Young Justice: Project Shadowcat
by Ami DragonHeart
Summary: The Young Justice team are about to get a new team mate, but the new girl has a past. **Please vote for either Witty Wally x Kitty or Wondercat Dick x Kitty **
1. Chapter 1

***Disclaimer: Do not own so do not sue***

A streak of red hair raced through the streets, a blur to the human eye. He sighed, even with his speed, somehow he just knew he'd be the last one to Headquarters. Resigned green eyes lit with a new determination, maybe if he went just a little faster, he'd at least beat someone back to base. Reaching the secret entrance, he slammed the door closed before being enveloped in a golden light. Stepping out of the light he heard an electronic voice announce his arrival. 'B03 - Kid Flash.' The red-head bounded into the training room only to find that he was indeed the last one there, again.

"Typical," the blonde leaning against the wall snarked, "Wally West, always the last to arrive." Wally snorted, striding over to stand next to a small raven-haired boy, at least he could count on his best friend not to make fun of him. "Leave him alone Artemis," the smaller boy told her, "You know he couldn't help landing himself in detention." Or not, Wally glared at his best friend, he seriously could not catch a break around here. Between Robin's little digs and Artemis's constant snips and jibes, he was surprised he hadn't developed a complex. Pouting, he glanced over to a green-skinned red-head, at least M'gann would bake for him, when she wasn't fawning over Conner. The dark-haired Superboy stood silently away from most of the group, preferring his solitude over joining in with their bickering, beside him the bark-skinned blonde Kaldur, his quiet confidence a soothing presence on the clone.

The six teenagers jumped to attention as Batman strode into the room flanked by Red Tornado, Black Canary and two men they'd never seen before. "Good afternoon," Batman greeted, "There is a reason to my asking you all to be here this afternoon, but first I'd like you to meet Professor Charles Xavier and Logan." The surly man with the leather jacket and sideburns merely crossed his arms and glared as the man in the wheelchair rolled forward to greet the young team. Robin's face lit up as his fingers flew to his wrist computer, bringing up the details he was searching for. "Woah!" the raven boy exclaimed, "You're THE Professor Xavier, headmaster of Xavier's school for Gifted Youngsters and the leading scientist in genetic mutation?"

Professor Xavier chuckled, the sound reverberating warmly from his chest. "I take it you've heard of me young Robin," Charles acknowledged him with a gentle smile, one that set the entire team at ease. Looking to Batman, the bald professor continued, "I'm here to introduce you to your new team-mate." The wheelchair-bound Professor waited, letting the young heroes get their outrage off their chest before continuing, "I assure you, she is quite a gifted young lady and my best student. She'd be an asset to any team."

Robin stepped forward, having a little more intel than the others, due to his work with Batman. "If you don't mind my asking, why this team?" Robin's voice was carefully polite as he spoke, ignoring Artemis's comments about not needing more members, "You have your own teams, wouldn't this girl be better suited to them?" Wally's fist popped the top of Robin's head, the speedster muttering about there always being room on their team for more girls. Charles merely smiled enigmatically, as if he already knew the question was coming, putting a hand up to silence any more comments. "A good question," the Professor aquiesced, "I do indeed have my own teams, but as they already possess a wide spread of abilities there is no place for her and both Batman and myself feel that it would be a shame to waste her talents." The professor paused for a moment, as if contemplating something before turning his gaze back to the team, "She's just arrived."

A tall, dark-skinned woman with hair like spun silver strode into the room, confidence and grace wrapped around her like a cloak , behind her was a short brunette girl nervously taking in everything around her. "Professor Munroe, where are we?" the girl's soft voice asked before bright blue eyes fell to Charles, "Professor!" The brunette raced towards Charles, her ankle boots barely making a noise as she crossed the floor to hug her mentor. Charles laughed, his arms wrapping around the girl like a father would greet his daughter. "Oh my little Kitten," he greeted as she stood back up, her nervousness returning as she realized where she was once, more. Her fingers quickly moved to smooth down her white private school jacket and short, white pleated skirt. Black detailing on the jacket drew their gaze to her slender form while highlighting the gold school crest over her left breast. A black, long-sleeved shirt poked out of from the jacket's sleeves, a red tie bringing attention to the high-collared blouse and her long neck. Black thigh-high stockings encompassed slender legs that fidgeted slightly while trying not to show she was worried. "Still no room on our team?" Wally leaned over an murmured in Robin's ear, a wide smile plastered on his face. The young teen broke his gaze to smirk at Wally, "Definitely room."

"This is Kitty Pryde," Charles told the Young Justice team, before turning back to the girl, "Kitty, this is your new team." Crystal blue eyes flicked between the group of teenagers to the Professor and back, the red and gold ribbons holding her long, dark curls back bouncing merrily with every shift of her head. His words finally sunk in as a bright smile crept on to her face. "I- I get a team?" Kitty stammered out, still not daring to believe his words, "I won't let you down, I promise!" Kitty had been wanting to join a team since she'd first set foot on the manicured lawns of Xavier's School, and she was going to do everything in her power to stay on this team. "I know you won't," Charles told her, his confidence in her making her feel bolder by the minute, "I've transferred your transcripts to Keystone Academy and I will send you the school work for your College Credits. I know you don't like it, but we need the paperwork if you want that Scholarship to MIT." Kitty nodded dutifully, it was no secret she despised having to take the time to log the paperwork required to back up her skills, but if she wanted to finish school early and score a scholarship, she needed to make sure every i and t was dotted and crossed. "Think they'll let me do a Double Major in Engineering and Dance?" Kitty asked, hands clasping in front of her as her voice quivered with both hope and trepidation. She loved to dance as much as she loved working with computers and hated to think what would happen if she had to choose one over the other. "They'd be fools not to," Charles assured her before giving her one last embrace, "Be good, and listen to your team mates."

Professor Xavier rolled his wheelchair away so Storm could step forward. "What if I fail?" Kitty asked, suddenly anxious now that Charles was no longer calming her mind. The silver-haired woman smiled, placing a reassuring hand on the young girl's shoulder. "You won't," Professor Munroe's husky voice told her, "You deserve this chance, so prove it to your team and then prove it to yourself. Achieve that, and you will have surpassed anything we could wish of you." The older woman smiled down at her before moving away, "The Quin-jet is yours to use." Logan waited until Storm and Charles had left the room before pushing off from the wall. Kitty smiled a farewell to the gruff man before turning to greet her new team when Logan spoke. "Hey kid," His gravelly voice made her spin to face him, "Anyone gives you any trouble, pop 'em in the kisser." Kitty laughed, her voice like a tinkling bell, knowing that was as close to a goodbye as she'd get from Logan. The loner didn't like to let people get too close and if they did, he'd never show it but his words meant the world to her because it showed he cared. Logan paused by a small stack of boxes they hadn't noticed previously and lifted a cloth to show a long, thin box, "And don't tell the Professor." Kitty's eyes lit up, knowing what Logan must had slipped in to her luggage as the man stalked off after Charles and Storm. The small brunette took a moment to collect herself before turning to the group, putting on the biggest smile she could muster, "Hi, I'm Kitty!"

***Please leave a vote for either WITTY or WONDERCAT***

May your thoughts and creativity flow,

Lady Ami DragonHeart


	2. Chapter 2

The moment the adults left, Wally zipped to the girl's side, flashing her his most charming grin. "Hey beautiful," the red-head greeted, attempting to look as suave as possible, "Kid Flash, but you can call me Wally, or 'yours', whatever works. If you need a hand moving those boxes, I can do it in a jiffy." Kitty started giggling, her confidence slowly returning at the speedster's friendly nature. Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, he turned her so they could both see the group. "Okay, so short-stuff over there is Boy Wonder, otherwise known as Robin, neither are his real name but he likes to keep the mystery," Kitty started snickering at Wally's commentary, "The red-head with the soft touch is Miss Martian but we just call her M'gann. Tall, dark and broody over there is our Superboy Conner, with tall, blonde and fishy Kaldur beside him. We call him AquaLad, and blondie in the green is Artemis." Kitty smiled brightly, her blue eyes full of mirth, she was starting to feel like a member of the team. Closing her eyes, the young girl reveled in the feeling of belonging before she opened her gaze to the group once more. "Well then I guess you can call me Shadowcat," Kitty told them, revealing her own name for herself.

"Shadowcat huh?" Wally asked, "Is that 'cause you're a cute little kitty?" Kitty blushed, not used to receiving this kind of attention. "Hah! I'm so right!" Wally crowed his delight, "I like it. So would you like the tour now, or to settle in first?" M'gann grinned, racing over to them. The martian was delighted at the idea of having another girl living at Mount Justice. Conner was okay, but as far as company went you were better off talking to the toaster. "Oh, I can play tour guide if you'd like me to," M'gann offered joyfully, she was only too happy to show the new girl around. Wally just grinned before sweeping Kitty up into his arms, taking her indecision as an invitation to take over. "I've got the tour," Wally told M'gann as he started racing through Headquarters, "why don't you sort out a room for her. Something with a view of the ocean!" Kitty's delighted squeel echoed the hall as Kid Flash blurred through the mountain, only pausing at various points of interest.

"I don't like her," Artemis bit out, scowling after the racing pair as M'gann roped Conner and Kaldur into helping her move the boxes up to Kitty's room. Robin glanced over to the martian girl babbling excitedly about which room she thought would be best. "I have to admit, I'm not exactly whelmed with the idea of a new team mate," Robin replied, "Not when her skills seem to be computers. There's no way Batman would put her on the team if that was her only skill, right?" Robin looked unsure, he knew his mentor had a reason for everything, and if he thought Kitty would be an asset then she obviously had potential, but did that mean he was no longer meant to be their computer guy?

By the time Wally was done showing Kitty around Mount Justice, M'gann and the boys had shifted all of Kitty's belongings up to the room she would be using while she stayed there, a room with a view of the ocean, just like Wally had suggested. The newest member protested their need to move her belongings all while thanking them for helping. Conner and Kaldur were already on their way to meet up with Robin and Artemis when Wally offered his services to help her settle in, M'gann cheerfully nodded assistance, already racing over to the boxed to help unpack.

"I couldn't possibly ask you to help me unpack," Kitty protested, "You've already done so much already." The brunette did her best to keep a smile on her face. She was stiff and sore from the flight and all she wanted was to stow the necessities and crawl under the covers for a nice, long sleep. Wally's eyes bugged out of his head, "But there's so much stuff to put away!" he exclaimed, his eyes wandering over the boxes once more. Kitty chuckled slightly, the truth was she didn't exactly have much in the way of possessions so when Professor Munroe told her to pack it hadn't taken long to store all of her belongings in the boxes she'd been provided. "Most of that is my equipment and books," Kitty told them, pointing to various boxes, "All the textbooks for my school work and college credits are in these ones, and those over there are full of electronics."

M'gann and Wally shared a look that seemed to convey more then it should. To the young girl, it almost looked like they were holding a conversation but before she could consider the possibilities she was shaken from her thoughts by the red-headed martian. "Well, if you insist on unpacking by yourself then please let me bake some cookies for you," M'gann told her, wanting to help the girl feel welcome in any way she could, and if all she could do was bake, then bake she would. At Kitty's nod, M'gann flew from the room speeding for the kitchen. Wally gave a cheeky grin before standing up, "I better go help her," Wally replied, knowing the friendly martian was more likely to burn the cookies then make anything edible, "You set your equipment up and I'll help you shelve the books." With one final salute the speedster zipped after the wayward martian leaving Kitty to her solitude.

Kaldur and Conner stepped into the lounge area near the kitchen to see the other two members of the team deep in conversation. Kaldur sighed heavily, his silent companion had filled him in on their conversation while they shifted boxes and he was less then pleased with what had been said. The gilled man understood Robin's fears, with Kitty showing no signs of abilities that could assist the team other than her computer talents, there was a possibility of her usurping the raven teen's position as their hacker, but maybe Batman wanted her on the team to facilitate a connection back to Headquarters. Perhaps having someone not in the field was a benefit. She could view the situation with a perspective they wouldn't see. Thinking that way, the young girl could be quite the valuable asset. Artemis's views were far more troubling.

The blonde had joined the team on less-than-friendly terms with most of the members with all of them feeling as though she had driven one of their best friends away. Because of that, they hadn't shown her the warm welcome she had deserved. Of course since then she'd proven herself to be a valuable asset to the team. Perhaps her instant dislike of the girl was due to the warm reception she'd been greeted with, perhaps it had stirred up jealousies and insecurities regarding her own position on the team, either way, Kaldur knew he'd have to watch the situation very closely.

Seeing the two silent men enter the room, Robin and Artemis cut off their conversation to wait for the boys to join them on the lounge. The raven teen and the blonde archer flicked each other a questioning gaze, both of them wanting to blurt out what was stirring bitterly on the tips of their tongues. Finally Artemis broke, "What do you think of her?" the blonde archer inquired. At Conner's shrug, AquaLad sighed leaning forward to engage the other two. It was no surprise the SuperBoy had no opinion on the matter, he rarely did unless they were training or on a mission. "I think," Kaldur replied evenly, "We should give her a chance." Anything else he was going to say was cut off by M'gann and Wally diving for the kitchen to start cooking. Well, M'gann was cooking, Wally was snacking on anything pre-made within reach.

Wally stalked into Kitty's room baring a tray of freshly baked, semi-edible choc-chip cookies just as the girl in question finished wiring up her monitor. "Hey, looking good there Kitty-kat," Wally greeted, a lopsided grin on his face, "Oh, and the computer set-up's looking fine too." Kitty smiled turning to face Wally. It hadn't taken her long to stow her clothes away in the wardrobe provided, and she kept all her electronic equipment prepped for an easy set-up. She'd even stacked all the empty boxes away under the bed, all that remained was the books. "You don't have to do this Wally," Kitty told him gently even though she was really beginning to enjoy the exuberant youth. Wally placed the tray of half-burnt treats down and tossed her the packet of store-bought cookies he'd tucked under his arm when M'gann wasn't watching. "You take those," the speedster told her, slipping a couple of bottles of water from his pockets before passing one to her, "I'll eat the burnt ones." At Kitty's incredulous look he patted his belly. "Cast-iron stomach Kit-kat," the red-head explained, "Wait, that's what I'll call you! Kitkat!"

Kitty laughed as the red-head pulled her in for a noogie before getting to work on the books. The diminutive brunette didn't know whether it was her tiredness or Wally's non-stop chatter, but it felt like she blinked only to find her booked shelved and ready. Smiling gratefully the girl gave a slight start when the speedster offered her one last case. The long, thin one Logan had decided to pack for her. "So what's in the case?" Wally asked, his natural curiosity getting the better of him. Kitty shrugged a reply before flicking the latches and lifting the lid. Once open, the brunette suddenly found herself blinking back tears. Inside lay twin katanas inside handsome mahogany coloured sheaths nestled amongst packing foam to protect them while the lid held a shoulder harness for the blades and a uniform.

"Black and gold huh?" Wally remarked, eying off the leathery fabric as Kitty lifted one sword from its soft bed and slowly drew the blade. A tear rolled down her pale cheek as the light glanced off the metal in a silvery-white sheen. To anyone else it would look like steel, but to those who knew what to look for it was Adamantium. The katanas presence alone was enough to choke the girl up, but knowing what they were made of, knowing what Logan must have done to acquire them, it meant more to her then she would ever be able to tell him. "Hey now," Wally stumbled out, "Don't cry Kitkat. They're just swords, we can get you something different if you want." Kitty shook her head, clutching one katana close to her chest, a bright smile negating the tears now flowing freely down her face, and suddenly Wally understood. She didn't want anything else and she never would because of who gave them to her and that kind of emotional attachment meant more to her than anything else.

The red-haired teen stayed with her until her tears slowed and she looked ready to sleep. After promising to meet her in the training room to take her to school the next day Wally ruffled her hair before taking his leave. Whistling on his way to the portal he paused, realizing that for once he was actually excited about going to school the next day. Green eyes glinted with a new purpose as he promised himself he wouldn't let anyone bully her, he didn't care if they picked on him but he wasn't going to let some two-bit jerk mess with his Kitkat, and that was final. Watching the door close, Kitty waited until she was sure Wally was gone before thrusting her windows open and peering out into the darkness. "It's safe to come in now."

***Please leave a vote for either WITTY or WONDERCAT***

May your thoughts and creativity flow,

Lady Ami DragonHeart


	3. Chapter 3

As promised, Wally was waiting by the portal when Kitty came racing down to meet him, leather book bag thrown over one shoulder. "You know you can wear what you want right?" Wally asked, eyeing off her Xavier's school uniform. Kitty blushed slightly, her fingers moving to smooth the fabric down while readjusting the shoulder strap on her satchel. "I don't have a lot of clothes," Kitty replied softly, "The few outfits I do have, I'd prefer to keep for when I'm not in school." It was true, as a child she'd never really seen a need for a closet full of clothes, and once she started attending Xavier's the uniform had negated the need to fill her wardrobe. Wally gave her a soft smile, wrapping one arm around her shoulders as he led her to the portal. "I'm getting M'gann to take you shopping," he told her, "Hey, play your cards right and I might even join you." The red-head laughed at her bewildered look before tugging her through the portal.

Wally took great pleasure in showing Kitty the sights on the way to school , pointing out his favorite hang outs, most of which were food related, and even which spots to avoid. It didn't take long before the pair were entering Keystone Academy, dodging the usual high school shenanigans while still leading her towards the office. Grabbing a map and her timetable Wally froze in his tracks. "Um Kitkat?" Wally started, "This form says you're almost fourteen." Kitty nodded, not quite knowing where her friend was going with this. "But you're in my classes?" Wally exclaimed. The classes on her timetable put her with students one to two years her senior, something that would definitely make her a target for the bullies. Kitty nodded one more, as if being informed you had been put into a higher grade was an everyday occurrence. "I've been doing course work beyond my age-bracket," Kitty replied gently, "and I've already completed some college credits. I'm hoping to get a scholarship to MIT by the end of next year." Wally let out a low whistle, at least being in his classes meant he'd be able to look out for her better. Escorting the young girl to her locker Wally's face lit up. "So if I have trouble with Maths I should totally talk to you?" the speedster asked. It was the one class he just couldn't seem to wrap his head around, no matter how many tutors his parents had exhausted on him. "I think I can help you out," Kitty replied, a smile creeping on to her face as they walked down the halls together.

Kitty's uniform drew attention everywhere they went, though fortunately they made it through the first two classes without any of the usual jerks rearing their ugly heads. Wally watched as the small girl stepped out of the locker room, her uniform replaced by a pair of black shorts that just covered her butt and a fitted black t-shirt that bore Xavier's emblem on the front and 'Pryde' on the back, her hair pulled back in a no-nonsense ponytail. She was halfway between the locker room and Wally when two jocks stood up, one blocking her path, the other stopping a retreat. "Hey there sweetheart," one of them told her, "How about you come with us and we'll show you some 'School Pride'." Kitty rolled her eyes at them both before side-stepping the one in front of her to continue on to Wally. The one behind her grabbed her wrist and the young Hero was about to dash to her rescue when she calmly spun to face him, leaping gracefully into the air with one knee raised to smash into his nose. The jerk lost his grip on her wrist and she merely pivoted in mid-air to connect a round-house kick to the other guy's chin. Landing with the cat-like ease she seemed to be named for , Kitty simply flipped her hair over one shoulder and continued over to Wally, making sure to stand on both of them as she passed. "That's my girl," Wally beamed, throwing an arm around her shoulders, "Just remind me never to tick you off, okay Kitkat?"

Their gym teacher strode in eyeing the class before taking his spot by the basketball court, if he thought two boys sporting blood noses was odd, he didn't let on. The teacher sent the two bloody-nosed jerks off to grab a bag of balls, announcing that the rest of the class should separate into two teams. Wally's heart sank, two teams, one big bag of balls and a class full of jerks who didn't like him, yep a round of dodge-ball was all he needed. Taking one look at the girl beside him, he could only hope that her display earlier was enough for them to think twice about sending all the balls her way. Kitty on the other hand took on a new look of determination, she was going to make sure those dimwitties knew not to mess with her, if it was the last thing she did.

The whistle blew and Wally dashed forward to grab a couple of balls, meaning to pass one to Kitty, only to find she'd already grabbed one and let it fly, right into the first bloodied jerk's face. If the speedster enjoyed the yelp of pain coming from the other end of the court, he tried not to show it...much. Tossing one of his balls at an easy target, the red-head set his sights on one of the jocks, only to see another ball headed right for him. Wally braced himself for impact, knowing he couldn't use his abilities to dodge when Kitty leapt out of no where to grab the ball and hurl it straight back at the other team, taking out both the thrower and her target.

As the numbers on the team dwindled Wally soon found himself with another dilemma, he couldn't bring himself to aim at the girls, no matter how vicious or nasty they were. "Blonde cheerleader, red tank top," Wally muttered to Kitty, watching as the girl took out her target with a deadly efficiency no one with her angelic face should possess. The pair quickly fell into their own little routine, of defending each other while taking out as many of the other team as they could, the rest of their team mates dropping around them like flies. It wasn't long before Kitty and Wally were the last ones standing, for the first time in Wally's life he'd not only survived a dodge-ball match, he'd won. The teacher allowed them to celebrate by hitting the showers early while the rest of the class ran laps.

Finishing gym early also meant they were the first to the cafeteria for lunch. The biggest grin burst out on Wally's face as he realized this meant they would actually get hotdogs instead of the usual slop that was left over by the time he got there. It seemed Kitty's presence had an added bonus of all the cafeteria staff thinking she was some poor, unfortunate half-staved child because they made sure she received a larger helping of everything and one of every dessert available.

Once seated, Kitty switched their plates so Wally had two hotdogs and she had his one, placing the extra large helping of fries between them. Wally's answering grin was blindingly brilliant, it was no secret he loved food and needed an inordinate amount to even function, but to have her pander to the lunch ladies doting nature just to score him more food was beyond anything he could have imagined. He was so happy he didn't even stop her when she dragged a fry through the sauce on his hotdogs before munching away on it. The red-head's delight only grew when she passed over the cup of cherry jello he'd been eyeing off. Wally was almost sad to see her leave at the end of lunch, dropping her off at her Computer class before he headed off to Cooking, but as he told her to wait for him to take her to his next class, he realized that at least he'd get to have the bubbly brunette for a lab partner for their final class of the day.

Blue eyes scanned the crowd, lighting up as they spotted a flash of red moving steadily through the crowd. Kitty answered Wally's beaming smile with a grin of her own, passing over the apple crumble she'd saved from lunch for him. The red-head crowed his delight, munching away one-handed, the other arm in its usual place around her shoulders as he steered them towards his favorite class. Chemistry was a breeze, with Kitty as his new lab partner and not some ditzy cheerleader hoping to score easy credits, they were able to get all their work done and still have time to goof off and Wally was quickly learning his new friend was more spark than bubble. It was an easy comradery that followed them from the classroom back to the lounge in Headquarters where the pair had their homework spread out, helping each other out when they needed it.

***Please leave a vote for either WITTY or WONDERCAT***

May your thoughts and creativity flow,

Lady Ami DragonHeart


	4. Chapter 4

The team slowly filtered into the lounge, eyes bugging out over Wally willingly doing homework, but every time his mind started to wander the little brunette seemed to gently coerce him back to the problem. Robin didn't bother pulling out his books as he sat with them, having already completed beyond the classwork required, but M'gann was quick to invite Artemis to sit with them, the martian girl taking it as an opportunity to learn more about Earth. Kaldur watched with a careful eye as the blonde archer reluctantly added her own books to the table, her eyes darting to the speedster and the girl tucked under his arm more often then was natural while Conner merely stared at the blank TV screen. It was to this picture that Batman stalked in, announcing for them to suit up and meet him in the Training Room.

Shadowcat walked into the Training Room feeling very self-conscious in her new uniform. The black leathery fabric hugged her body while the golden v-shape falling from her shoulders to down between her legs emphasized her curves. Black boots with a little gold stripe at the top of them, soft, gold leather gloves and a gold belt completed the look. Her belt buckle was the only detail that symbolized where she'd come from. The black X surrounded by red marked her as an X-man and a mutant. The twin Adamantium katanas Logan had given her were resting against her back, their solid weight in the holster a comforting presence. She brushed her long dark curls over one shoulder, preferring to wear them loose, as she stepped into line with the rest of the team, a slight smile reaching her face at Wally's low, appreciative whistle.

The mission looked routine, fly in, do a little re-con, assess the situation and then report back to the League. It wasn't until they were on board that Wally accidentally stumbled onto a little problem. "So, I gotta say Kitkat, you're one fine looking kitty," Wally grinned as she walked past him to the only available seat, "Anyone else feel like agreeing with me here?" While everyone else shot Wally exasperated looks, Robin glanced over at their newest member, his bright eyes instantly noting the one thing everyone else had overlooked. The acrobatic hacker quickly dug in his pouches, tugging a spare mask free. "Here" the raven teen handed the mask to Kitty, "Put this on." While Kaldur, M'gann and Conner refused to wear masks, none of them actually went to school either so there was no risk of exposure. With Kitty attending school with Wally, it made the need to conceal her identity even more of priority since it wouldn't just be her life on the line if she was ever found out.

Kitty muttered out a thanks, quickly slipping the domino mask into place before checking with M'gann if it was sitting right. The martian girl beamed, glad the young girl felt comfortable enough to come to her, before nodding that it was fine the way she had it. "Aw, how come you're not wearing anything of mine Kitkat?" Wally whined, pouting at her accepting Robin's mask while M'gann steered the ship out of Mount Justice and towards their destination. "Your goggles would be too big," Kitty giggled back, glad the raven teen had a delicate face or she wouldn't have fitted his mask either. Artemis snorted, before nodding towards Kitty's weapon of choice. "You know how to use those?" the blonde asked, one eyebrow rising in a challenge. The brunette shrugged, shifting her gaze to the archer. "I guess we'll find out," Kitty replied before fixing her gaze back out the front window, leaving Wally and Robin to snicker at Artemis's livid face.

M'gann landed the craft in a small clearing letting the woods, and it's cloaking abilities to conceal it from unwanted eyes. Robin brought up his wrist computer, checking their location before leading them into the woods. The group halted by the edge of the trees, trying to find the best way in. "This is no good," Robin muttered, "I need a clearer view." Kitty glanced around, the shrubbery was so thick they could barely make out the building, let alone guard details and entrance points, before breaking in to a smile. "Or height," Kitty replied, pointing to the trees, "Flash, give me a boost." Wally stepped up to help lift her up high enough to latch on to the lowest branch, from there she proceeded to scurry up the tree, sitting up the top for a few moments before scampering back down. "What's it look like?" Kaldur asked, they needed a better grasp of the situation and by the grin on Kitty's face, she had an answer.

"The front's a no-go," Kitty told them the moment her feet touched the ground, "There's too many guards and no cover, same with the sides but it looks like there's a drainage system at the rear. If we can find a storm-water entrance we should be able to back-track using the sewer system." Kaldur nodded, one entrance was all they needed, they could fight their way out if they had to, but stealth was a must for the trip in. Robin took off, blazing a trail through the trees to the back of the building before they found an old drain large enough for them to walk in. Robin eyed the rusty old padlock holding the grate in place before grabbing his trusty lock-pick set. "I got it," Kitty told them, drawing one katana over her shoulder, ignoring the raven teen's snickers as she brought the blade down sheering the lock clean off. "It's Adamantium," she replied, stowing her weapons while staring at their incredulous faces.

Robin took point on the tunnel system, once more navigating the labyrinth with his usual ease. Finding a suitable exit, the team climbed up the cast iron rungs and burst out through the man-hole. Kaldur gave them their orders before turning to M'gann, asking the girl to link them when Kitty felt the presence of a telepath brushing against her mind. Blue eyes widened as she turned to the martian girl. "Stay out of my head," she snapped, earning her a reproachful glance from the green-skinned girl and angry glares from the rest of the team. Wally shook his head, knowing how upset they had all been when they'd first felt the presence in their minds. "It's just the way we do things Kitkat," the red-head explained, "Makes us more efficient." Kitty stepped back, her eyes still wide with what Wally could only place as fear, shaking her head repeatedly. "I don't care," Kitty bit back, "Stay out, I'll stick to comms." The last thing they saw was the brunette slipping out the door to do her part of the mission.

The mission was actually going quite well, Robin and Kitty were downloading data while Wally, M'gann and Aretmis sifted through the Store Room for evidence with Kaldur and Conner standing guard, until they realized their mission had become a hostage situation. Robin uncovered a couple of rooms flagged as Holding Rooms which turned out to be hosting scientists being held against their will. The team made to meet there and release the prisoners and had led them almost halfway to the front doors before the alarms went off.

Wally slapped a hand to his forehead as he realized they'd forgotten Kitty wasn't privy to their mind-speak. "Shadowcat? Baby?" Wally asked, silently begging her to answer, "Please tell me you can hear me." Kitty muttered a reply, her voice barely audible over the sounds of her fighting her way through the crowds. "Head to the front doors," Wally told her, breathing a sigh of relief that she was okay, "We'll meet you there." Kitty burst into the main room just as they reached the doors, the team herding the scientists towards the trees as the brunette brought up the rear.

Kitty saw the team reach the trees when the crack of a whip right in front of her face stopped her dead in her tracks. Her heart hammering in her chest drowned out the voices of her team mates begging her to run as she turned her wide blue eyes to face the thing before her. It looked like it had been human at one stage, but the only humanity left now was it's bipedal physique. Fangs and fur covered what looked like it belonged in a low-budget horror movie while a clawed hand gripped a whip that looked like an energy-conducting filament. Reversed kneecaps shifted as the beast balanced its weight for another swing at her. Kitty hadn't even realized she'd started shaking until her katanas slid from her hands, the tips stabbing into the ground.

The young heroes stood at the edge of the trees silently pleading with her to make a break for it. The moment her blades bit into the earth, Wally was off, racing to reach her before the whipe did, his body colliding with hers and sending them both sprawling just moments before the whip cracked the place she'd just been. The moment they hit the ground the rest of the team was off, M'gann flew over to Wally and Kitty, using her powers to protect them as the speedster attempted to gain a reaction from the brunette. Artemis and Robin played distraction to allow Conner and Kaldur room to get close.

Kaldur was the first to fall, the beast using his own water attacks against him, forcing electric charges back onto water boy. Artemis fell next, a lucky blow sending her flying backwards to the treeline. Conner was next, the burly lad tossed in to Robin, sending them both sprawling across the floor. "Stay with her," Wally told M'gann, as he dashed off to help his friends "Get her to safety." The martian girl tried to rouse the girl as the speedster raced around the creature, zipping this way and that to buy time for the rest of the team to get back up.

Wally soon joined the others, his bright form sailing past the brunette enough to shock her back to reality. The rest of the team looked up just in time to see Kitty throw herself at M'gann as the whip cracked down on both of them. A blinding light filled the space, indicating it had connected with something, but when the light cleared the girls seemed to have rolled just far enough away to be safe. Stretching a hand out, the green-skinned girl summoned a large rock to drop on the creature's head, allowing the others the chance to finally overpower it.

The team breathed a collective sigh of relief as Robin placed the call to Batman, the beast now bound and secured. It wasn't long before transport vehicles filled the air, bundling up everything from within the building and letting the Young Justice team finally make the trek back to their aircraft. Kitty paused, collecting her katanas before following after the group at a small distance, her head hung low. She hadn't expected that last surprise, and she certainly hadn't expected the memories it had brought crashing back to her. Maybe she wasn't ready for a team after all.

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May your thoughts and creativity flow,

Lady Ami DragonHeart


	5. Chapter 5

Seven youths stood in a row as Batman stalked up and down before finally taking his place by the computers. "What happened?" his gravelly voice bit out. Six of the seven heads swiveled to look at each other, none of them quite able to put what had happened into words while Kitty kept her gaze fixed on the floor before her. Eventually Artemis stepped forward. "Why don't you ask her?" the blonde archer bit out, an accusatory finger pointing at the small brunette.

Robin's eyes flew to Batman's face, noting the raised eyebrow beneath the cowl. Batman raising an eyebrow was never a good thing. "Explain," Batman demanded, the word reverberating around the room like a death sentance. Artemis's eyes darted to the others, but when no one else seemed willing to offer up the information, she straightened up, squaring her shoulders to face the Bat. "The first rule anyone learns is to keep moving," the blonde told him, "stop and you're as good as dead. She froze and her mistake almost cost the team." Batman's piercing eyes bore into the archer until she shrunk back into line with the others before turning his gaze to the smallest member of the team. "Enough," Batman hrowled out, "If one fails, the team fails, so sort it out before your next mission." His black cloak billowed out behind him as he swooped past and out of the room, leaving the teenagers to themselves.

"This is your fault," Artemis spat at Kitty, hating the bitter taste failure had left on her tongue, "This is why we all link our minds for a mission. You don't want to link your mind to ours, then you shouldn't be on this team. Or do you have something to hide?" Kitty stood silently, letting the words wash over her as she tried to hold her tears in. She'd let the team down, she'd let Batman down, but more than that, she'd let her past catch her and that was the one thing she'd sworn not to do. "I'm sorry," the brunette choked out, tears spilling down her cheeks to splatter the floor, "I didn't want her in my head because I...I just...I couldn't..." Kitty shook her head, unable to face the group, the pain growing steadily worse. "I'm sorry," she whispered before the pain became too much and she had to run again.

Wally watched her go, wanting nothing more than to follow her and dry her tears but Kaldur's hand on his shoulder stopped him. The dark-skinned man shook his head, Kitty needed space right now, she needed time to clear her head and she couldn't do that if Wally followed. "What?" Artemis snapped at their reproachful glances, "She almost got M'gann killed, pushing her into that whip like that." The martian girl in question looked up, her bright eyes suddenly pensive as she forced her mind to recall what had happened.

"I don't think she did," M'gann told them, her voice soft as she searched her memories, "I remember seeing the whip and just knowing it was going to hit me. Then Kitty lunged for me...and then I just felt numb." The group stared at the young martian, perplexed by her take on the situation. "I remember thinking it was the strangest sensation," the green-skinned girl continued, "I couldn't feel the breeze or the ground, and then this crack of energy went straight through me and I braced for what was going to happen, but when I opened my eyes we were both fine. I think...I think she saved me." She glanced around at the group suddenly realizing none of them would be able to fill in the blanks for her. "Hello Megan!" she exclaimed, smacking her palm to her forehead, "I have to go." M'gann flew out of the room, searching everywhere until she finally spotted Kitty sitting on a large rock outside, letting the icy sea breeze whip at her clothing and chill her skin.

"I just don't understand it," Wally told Robin as the team sat around the lounge room, "She's got moves man. She took on two jerks twice her size and didn't even blink. She won dodge-ball against a class two years her senior. I just don't get it." Robin nodded, he too found it strange that the girl from Wally's gym class could freeze so badly but then fear sometimes made people do strange things. "I was right," M'gann exclaimed as she joined them on the couch, "She did save me." Seeing their confused looks slapped her forehead once more, "Hello Megan. She has powers! Kitty can become incorporeal and move through solid objects. That's why she didn't want me to merge our minds, not because she was worried about what we might find, but because it can have an adverse effect on the telepath. She's had telepaths in her head before, but if they're connected to her when she phases, her word for it, the telepath can suffer anything from severe disorientation to a coma. She was protecting me."

Wally's face lit up, he just knew there had to be a reason behind Kitkat's cagey reply. Robin grinned, it was about time he had a chance to use his skills on a mystery. Breaking out his computer, the acrobat's fingers began to fly, accessing Batman's database to get Kitty's profile, bringing the display up on widescreen so they could all see.

"Says here her main power is 'phasing'," Robin told them, "meaning she can move through solid objects or walk on air without falling. She can also extend her powers to include people or objects touching her. Kitty can also cause a distortion to anything electrical by phasing through it. She's also marked down as a Level 4 Mutant." Seeing their inquiring faces Robin sighed, why was he the only one who read. "Mutants, those with a genetic mutation that manifests in the form of supernatural abilities," the raven teen explained, "are classified into levels depending on their powers. Level 1 is for Mutants with physical mutations but not necessarily any abilities. Level 2 is for minor abilities, 3 for medium level attributes, while Level 4 is for those with serious powers. Level 5 is reserved for the most powerful, so far there have only been two mutants on record to have ever reached that level, one died trying to start the Cold War. But this doesn't make sense, judging by her power she should be a Level 2, 3 at best. I'd get more information but the rest is classified."

Wally didn't wait for everyone else to catch up, he sped out of the lounge and up to Kitty's room. The red-head knocked on the door, waiting a few moments before entering anyway, seeing his friend already curled up in bed. "Hey Kitkat," the speedster greeted gently, sitting down beside her. Looking at her tiny form curled away from him, he drew on hand up to rest on her back, noting the flinch as she shifted away from his touch even as she pretended to be asleep. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked slightly upset she hadn't confided in him, "I think your powers are awesome, even if it means you can't find out how great my head is." Wally tried once more, placing his hand on her shoulder this time, letting out a sigh of relief when she let it stay there. "They don't blame you, you know," Wally explained, "Not now they know why you can't let M'gann into your head. We all just wish you'd told us sooner." His green eyes took one look at the silent tears rolling down her cheek and suddenly he was typing out a quick text to his uncle that Young Justice stuff had come up and he was crashing at Headquarters that night. "Budge up Kitkat," Wally told her, collecting a spare blanket before ditching his shirt and belt and sliding on to the bed to lie on top of the covers behind her. Throwing the spare blanket over both of them, he wrapped an arm around the girl. She was upset, far from the home she was used to and she didn't need to spend the night wallowing in her own grief. "Good night Kitty," Wally murmured, smiling to himself as she eventually rolled over and curled into him.

M'gann left the room to check up on Kitty, leaving Robin to type away at his computer trying to access more information on the girl. Peaking quickly into the room the martian girl smiled knowing that Wally would make sure she was okay. After ensuring that the speedster was being a gentleman, the red-haired girl closed the door quietly behind her. After all Kitty had done to protect her, it was time M'gann did something for her. Robin sighed with frustration as the martian re-entered the room, never had he been so stumped by a girl. Every other member of the team had a full dossier detailing height, weight, skills, abilities even a full medical history but Kitty's was locked to only provide the basics and even his clearance as Batman's sidekick wouldn't gain him any more information. He'd even tried hacking, but it seemed Batman wanted this information kept from everyone's eyes, including his. What could be so special about this girl that his mentor would purposefully with-hold information? Well one way or another, Robin was going to find out.

***Please leave a vote for either WITTY or WONDERCAT***

May your thoughts and creativity flow,

Lady Ami DragonHeart


	6. Chapter 6

The next few days school kept most of the team busy, but the time not spent learning, M'gann and Wally kept Kitty completely occupied. Since learning of the young girl's abilities, the martian had made it her mission to ensure they became best friends, when she could pry her away from Wally. The speedster had taken to chasing the brunette around Headquarters, using his agility to surprise her or tickling her to force her to take flight.

The boisterous nature of their playing had disturbed the carefully balanced quiet of the team until M'gann had finally realised that his goofing off was actually a very cleverly disguised plan to slowly make Kitty more comfortable about using her powers around the team without her realising it. Robin had snorted, claiming that level of thought process was beyond Wally, but after Miss Martian scowled her displeasure, and her statement of Kitty using her powers in front of the group became more prevalent, he had agreed that Wally had known what she needed, even if he was operating on some base instinct.

Kaldur sat back and watched the pair, their current game being 'Catch and Tickle' with Wally using his speed to try to catch Kitty unawares while the girl phased just before he touched her as they ran from room to room. The ginger-haired teen thought he'd finally cornered her in the kitchen when she suddenly dropped through the floor. Glancing around wildly Wally missed the hand stetching out of the floor to tug his ankle out from under him. The speedster tumbled over the couch, landing in a tumbled mess beside Robin as Kitty floated up through the coffee table giggling. Flicking his eyes between a grinning Wally sprawled on his head and a giggling Kitty clutching her stomach, even Robin was hard-pressed to stop his snickers from bursting forth. The quiet teen reclined, smiling softly to himself. It seemed like the team was finally coming together. M'gann chuckled away from the kitchen, the martian busy cooking a lazy Saturay breakfast for the gang before training with the Black Canary.

As one the group stalked into the Training Room, all of them wearing comfortable clothes suitable for the occassion. Black Canary greeted her class before switching straight in to training mode. The black-clothed blonde preferred to teach by making them learn from their mistakes rather than giving them any formal directives. Forcing them to adapt to the sitations she provided meant they formed their own fighting style on their terms, rather than attempting to learn hers. Today it seemed Kitty was to be the subject of her training, the older woman calling her to the floor the moment they began.

"Ten bucks says Canary cleans up," Artemis muttered to the group, slapping the note into Robin's hands. Kaldur and Conner were quick to agree, having seen their trainer wipe the floor with all of them on a daily basis. M'gann was a little slower to agree while Robin took a moment to assess both opponents before adding his bet on the teacher. While Wally insisted the girl had skills, they'd all experienced the Canary's wrath so their teacher was the safe bet. "Is no one going to bet on Kitty?" Robin asked considering it was moot point to place a bet without both sides covered. Wally watched as Kitty made her way to the floor dressed in black cotton yoga pants and a black t-shirt with 'Shadowcat' printed on the back in gold. He'd seen er in action and he knew what she could do, but would it be enough to stump the Canary? "Ten bucks on Kitty," Wally replied, silently praying she brought out all the moves she'd shown on the dodge-ball court.

"Almost forgot," Kitty admonished herself, running out of the room to collect a couple of metal bracelets, "Can't train without these." The Black Canary inquired about the bracelets purpose as the young girl clasped them on her wrist, the metal emitting a soft light the moment she put them on. "They're inhibitors," Kitty replied, "I've trained myself to phase instinctively so they ensure that I fight fairly without breaking my own training." The brunette shocked the group by taking her place on the floor and calmly bowing to the Canary before slipping into a fighting stance. "Still want to bet on Kitty?" Robin asked, the fight would hardly be fair now that Kitty had removed her advantage from the table. Taking one look at the determination in the brunette's eyes, the speedster's mind was set, "Definitely."

The Canary dropped into her own fighting stance, preparing for another easy match when Kitty ran towards her. The blonde shifted slightly, aiming to displace the girl's speed against her when the young girl suddenly dropped to the floor using her momentum to slide past her waiting grip. Lightning fast, the brunette spun back up onto her feet pivoting a round-house between the teacher's shoulder blades. The Canary jolted forward slightly before spinning around to strike her own blow. Kitty dodged, ducking underneath the swing while snapping her own leg up into a high kick. The class stood in silent shock as their teacher hit the ground.

Robin wordlessly handed over the collected cash to Wally as their teacher stood back up. "Interesting," The Canary quipped, eyeing the girl closely, "You've been formally trained in multiple forms." Kitty smiled sheepishly, one hand toying with the hem of her shirt. Before her mutation had appeared she'd learnt a couple of forms of martial arts but since Xavier's she'd been drilled in more advanced forms. "I'm a dancer," Kitty replied shyly, never one to really talk about her own skills, "I started learning martial arts as a way to build my strength and have a better sense of balance while I danced, the rest Logan taught me." The Canary nodded, taking her place once more, she wouldn't be caught off-guard again.

The teacher waited as Kitty bowed once more before charging, the girl seemed to favour kicks, so close-range would suit their fight better, but the young girl simply flipped over the teacher to land in a crouch. Aiming a kick to the blonde's head, Kitty attacked only to have the older woman catch her foot. The Canary thought she'd gained the upper hand, only to have the brunette smile and spin her body into a second kick, using the one in the blonde's hands for support and momentum. Taking her opportunity, Kitty back-flipped, catching the dazed teacher under the arms with her feet and tossing her across the court.

The Canary stood once more studying the girl. So she'd used her knowledge of martial arts and dance to create her own fighting style, one that was both flexible and unpredictable. The blonde was more careful this time, sticking to low-momentum blocks until she forced Kitty to fight hand-to-hand rather than using her feet to gain range. The pair began trading blows until the Canary landed a blow to the girl's back.

Kitty tumbled to the ground as a cry of pain ripped from her lungs. The older woman froze, watching as the brunette lay still, biting her lip in an attempt to suppress any more utterances of pain seconds before the air vent above them erupted with flames. A small purple creature burst out of the ducts, its dark intent focused solely on the teacher as she ducked and weaved it's fiery blasts. Wally and Robin flew to Kitty's side, hoping to get the injured girl out of the line of literal fire before trying to save their teacher. "Lockheed! I'm okay," Kitty cried, shrugging the boys off to stare at the creature, "Lockheed, stop! She wasn't hurting me. Please STOP!"

The purple creature ceased it's onslaught and flew to the fallen girl's side, muttering in it's chirped tongue as it curled itself into her arms and nuzzled her neck. "I know that's what it looked like," Kitty responded to what could have only been the creature in her arms chattering at her, "I told you this morning there was training." As the blonde teacher approached Lockheed leaped out of Kitty's arms, unfurling his wings while letting out more warning blasts of fire. "Lockheed!" Kitty reprimanded, "Now you're just being rude. You were fine with Pete and Logan training me." The dragon-like creature re-folded his wings, hanging his head sheepishly before scurrying back into her arms.

"Are you okay?" The Black Canary asked. The girl had dropped pretty hard after that blow to her back. Kitty grinned wearily, still soothing the dragon's ruffled scales as Wally and Robin sat like bodyguards beside her. "I'm fine," Kitty replied wincing slightly, she didn't need Lockheed to go on another rampage because her back was twinging, "I just twisted badly and landed wrong." The teacher eyed her oddly, she had enough experience to know when pain was caused by bad footing during training, or a wound playing up, but if the young girl wasn't going to mention it, than it wasn't her place. "Take her to her room," she told Wally and Robin, "She needs to rest, and I need to inform Batman we've finally found what's been messing with the security system."

The young heroes did as they were told, Wally lifting the girl up into his arms to carry her back to her room despite her protests that she could walk, while Robin detoured past the kitchen to grab food, water and pain medication. If she'd strained a muscle by landing wrong, she'd be in desperate need of some pain pills, and thank Batman he always had a ready supply of those. Wally grinned at Robin's improvised lunch, already having his patient settled in bed, much to her chagrin, the little dragon fussing with her covers.

Robin's calculating eyes roamed the girl, now he understood why she was classified as a Level 4. Her abilities were worth a Level 2 ranking, but her training was what made her infinitely more powerful. Kitty had trained herself to use her powers instinctively the moment she sensed trouble, meaning she would be notoriously hard to beat, but combine that with her martial arts training and the girl had turned herself into one hell of a weapon. Of course, if you combined that with her computer skills and her loyal dragon-companion you had potentially a one-woman army. She was becoming more intriguing by the minute, and Robin had the distinct impression they hadn't seen all she had to offer yet.

***Please leave a vote for either WITTY or WONDERCAT***

May your thoughts and creativity flow,

Lady Ami DragonHeart


	7. Chapter 7

Kitty awoke the next day to Wally trying to convince her to crawl out of bed, but a few choice words and a spare pillow had him cowering beside her bed instead. It wasn't until Robin stalked in and dragged him out by the ear while muttering about pain medication making people sleepy that Wally finally decided to let Kitty sleep in, even if he thought six am on a Sunday was a perfect time to wake up. Much later, after everyone else in Headquarters was seated at the table for breakfast, Kitty finally stumbled in, her faithful dragon fluttering along behind her.

"Morning Sleeping Beauty," Wally grinned as Kitty sat beside him, still scrubbing tiredly at her eyes, "Cat got your tongue?" The brunette eyed him through bleary blue eyes before using her fork to stab the pancake on his plate and moving it to hers, munching away at her prize while the speedster just gaped. "Harsh Kitkat," Wally pouted as Robin and Kaldur snickered as his crestfallen face, "way harsh." The red-head attempted to return the favour by sneaking his fork over to Kitty's plate only to have a dragon snap playfully at his fingers, which only made the rest of the table laugh harder.

Robin's eyes twinkled with mischief as he glanced at Kitty and then to Wally, his own fork darting out and snagging a pancake off the ginger's plate, earning a slight smile from the tired brunette. The raven teen nudged Kaldur, nodding his head towards the young mutant and Wally's plate before the water boy caught the idea. It wasn't long before Kaldur and Robin were swiping everything that hit Wally's plate, making the red-head whine despairingly but had Kitty slowly laughing harder and harder, but it was Lockheed's tail spearing the last piece of bacon that finally defeated the speedster. The little dragon sat smugly on Kitty's shoulder slowly and purposefully tearing into his prize as Wally stared, mouth wide open at the fire-breather. The team couldn't hold it together any longer, erupting into fits of laughter before finally sliding the last stack of pancakes over.

Kaldur sat watching them proudly, glad Robin had finally overcome his initial distaste for Kitty. Watching the boy intentionally start a prank purely to see her smile gave the water-breather hope. M'gann had already made her intent known, firmly believing that the pair would be best friends and he had no doubt they would, especially if the little martian had anything to say about it. Conner was as distant as he was with everyone else, but at least his indifference was uniform. Provided Kitty proved herself as capable as they knew she was on her next mission, Kaldur was sure the clone would more than happily accept the bubbly girl, although maybe not with open arms.

Wally's affections had been obvious from day one. The speedster had charged in head first and claimed her as his companion and Kaldur knew that if nothing else happened between them, Wally would still remain her best friend something Kitty looked like she needed desperately. As for Kaldur himself, he had to admit that he found her smiles, which were steadily growing more genuine, more than a little infectious. She was smart, talented and slowly becoming more and more confident of her place in the team and more confident in herself and Kaldur was looking forward to the day she counted them all 'friend' enough to tell them the deep, dark secret lurking somewhere below the surface.

Shifting his eyes to Artemis, Kaldur sighed. It seemed everything Kitty did or said just made the archer resent her more. Whether it was the way the team was so ready to forgive Kitty for any indiscretions, or the easy friendship she'd developed with the rest of the team, or maybe it was the fact that her presence on the team had diverted Wally's attention away from her Kaldur couldn't be sure. All he knew was there was a storm brewing and it was going to break soon, whether Kitty was ready to face it or not. The water boy just hoped Wally was ready to sooth two upset and angry girls.

With no pending threats and all homework finished the gang headed out to the beach to enjoy the summer heat while they could. Kitty watched them all rush to strip down to their bathing suits, rushing to the water's edge before Wally tackled Robin into the water. Kitty sat underneath the large beach umbrella Conner had set up for them, a book in one hand, enjoying the light cool breeze coming off the ocean. It didn't take them long to realize the tiny brunette wasn't playing in the waves with them.

"What's wrong Kitkat?" Wally asked, racing up to stand in front of her trying not to drip water on her book, "Aren't you hot in those clothes?" Kitty looked down at her pale blue sundress and cut-off tights, while they were the coolest items she owned, they still didn't beat shucking them off completely and dancing in the cool water. "What's wrong?" Artemis snapped, she couldn't understand why the whole group needed to see why Kitty wouldn't join them, "Scared to get in the same water as us? Or are you afraid the sun will burn your precious skin?"

Kitty blushed, rubbing the back of her head shyly. Kaldur couldn't be sure whether the mutant heard Artemis's tone and ignored it or didn't realise she was being spiteful, but he was inclined to think the latter. "I, uh...I don't have a bathing suit," the brunette blushed, "Besides, it's probably not the best idea for me to be swimming. My back's still a little sore from yesterday."

"Are you serious?" Wally asked, gaining a nod from the girl, "Okay, everybody pack up. We're going shopping, M'gann's going to be our fashion expert, and us lads will appraise the outfits. Chop chop people, we have clothes to buy!" Artemis watched as the boys shrugged to each other before slowly working to pack everything up and head inside. M'gann was positively glowing about a girly shopping trip. "You're pathetic," Artemis told Wally, poking him hard in the chest, "She doesn't have a swimsuit so you're going to ruin our day at the beach just so she can fill her wardrobe?"

Kitty looked nervously between the pair before slipping in to stand between them. "Please don't fight," she asked worriedly, "I appreciate the thought Wally, but I really just want to sit in the shade today and read my book. I promise we'll go shopping another day, maybe when my back doesn't feel so stiff." Kitty knew she was stalling, but she just could bare the looks on their faces when they realized...no, she couldn't think like that. She'd stay positive, she had to, it's what Logan and Professor X wanted. Kaldur sighed as Wally deflated, the ginger placing a careful hand on the mutant girl's shoulder. "Yeah Kitkat," Wally told her, "We'll go shopping another day. Just make sure to drink lots of water and stay under the umbrella okay?" Kitty nodded, padding back up to sit on a beach chair and reclaim her book, earning a soft smile from Wally as he made sure to place a bottle of water beside her.

The teenagers all began to head back to the ocean when Wally stopped, he didn't like seeing Kitty all by herself. M'gann glanced at Wally when her friend failed to follow them back to the water, before flicking her gaze to the brunette. "You know," M'gann told them, her eyes flicking to Robin's as they shared a nod, "I'm actually feeling a little pink. I think I'll sit in the shade for a bit too." Robin followed the martian girl up the beach, waiting until she took up residence in the chair beside Kitty before dumping a bucket of water over Wally's head. The girls giggled as Wally chased Robin all over the beach, the young acrobat using every trick he knew to out-maneuver the speedster.

By the time they broke for lunch, Kitty and M'gann were giggling to each other about various things while M'gann insisted on painting Kitty's toenails. The brunette wasn't quite sure the fuchsia pink was her colour, but the infectious grin on the martian's face made the sacrifice worthwhile. Not trusting the others to an open fire Robin took command of the grill, slowly cooking their lunch. "To the lovely maidens of the Umbrella Kingdom," Wally said offering the girls a palte of food each before passing a smaller piece of meat to Lockheed, "And their noble steed." Kitty and M'gann shared a wicked grin before mock-curtseying the best they could while remaining seated. "Good sir," the replied, in their best attempt at British gentry before turning their gaze to Robin, "And of course, our thanks to the Valiant Knight of the Order of the Barbeque Tongs." Kitty and M'gann collapsed in a fit of laughter as Robin's cheeks flushed a very dark red.

Throughout the afternoon, Robin and Kaldur both switched with M'gann to keep the mutant girl company while subtly keeping Wally's attention within the group. Kaldur had sat with Kitty through an epic beach volleyball tournament where M'gann and Conner took on Wally and Artemis with Robin presiding as referee, with the martian and the clone wiping the floor with the speedster and human girl until Wally called for the teams to be evened up. Kaldur had taken Wally's place with Artemis while the ginger decided to play referee. Robin had made his way to sit by Kitty where they could cat-call Wally's bad judgement until the brunette finally fell asleep on Robin's shoulder.

Wally pouted as Robin carried Kitty back inside. A small, muttered fight had arisen between the two over who would carry her back to her room, but eventually Artemis's snark had won the battle in Robin's favour while Wally scratched his head over what he'd done to deserve the blonde's ire. Artemis had left soon after, while Robin and Wally had opted to help M'gann clean up, giving them both a valid excuse to check up on the mutant girl. The green-skinned girl was just putting the washing out when she noticed a dark mark on one of the shirts.

"Wally? Robin?" M'gann inquired, offering them the shirt as they walked past, "You wouldn't happen to know what this stain is would you? Only I can't seem to get it to come out." The pair eyed the rusty-brown mark carefully, their eyebrows shooting up as they glanced at each other. They knew what that coloured stain meant, having seen it far too often on their own clothes, but they'd never seen a stain that large. "Who's shirt is that?" Wally asked but feared he already knew the answer, and a look at Robin only confirmed his suspicions. M'gann looked at them slightly confused before answering, "Kitty's of course." If Robin knew why a large bottle of good pain medication found its way on to Kitty's bedside table, he certainly wasn't telling.

***Please leave a vote for either WITTY or WONDERCAT***

May your thoughts and creativity flow,

Lady Ami DragonHeart


	8. Chapter 8

Wally and Kitty stepped through the portal, ready to meet up with the rest of the after a long day at school only to find Batman and a red-haired woman waiting for them. "Jean!" Kitty cried out, breaking free of Wally's arm around her shoulder to greet the woman, "What are you doing here?"Jean hugged the girl to her tightly, she hadn't wanted to admit to anyone how much she'd missed the little brunette, much less to herself but seeing her, she just couldn't seem to brush those feelings aside anymore. "I'm here for your check-up," Jean told her warmly before cupping her face, "You still having nightmares?" Kitty nodded, she never could lie to Jean. "I think I might have something for that," Jean told her before backing up, suddenly aware of the six curious teens watching them.

"This is Dr Jean Gray," Batman told them gruffly, "She's agreed to remain here for the night while Red Tornado attends to business." The teens all looked to one another, not quite sure why Batman was letting an outsider in to watch over them. "Why do we require a babysitter?" Kaldur asked, his baritone voice calm and even, "Surely we can manage one night." Batman eyed the watery hero carefully and looked ready to comment when Jean strode forward, her smile purposefully polite.

"I'm Dr Jean Grey," the red-head greeted, "I'm a Mutant and the X-men's resident doctor. I was already on my way to give Kitty her check-up when Batman asked if I would agree to remain here for the night. We don't trust human doctors not to keep paperwork on Mutants, so it's best if one of our own handles things." Kaldur nodded his agreement, it was wise to keep their abilities out of the system and if Jean was willing to handle their medical needs, then all the better. Batman nodded to them all before sweeping out through the portal leaving Jean to heard Kitty into a spare room to begin her physical.

Conner and Kaldur escorted Artemis to the kitchen with M'gann promising to whip up an afternoon snack as Robin and Wally crept off so they could keep an eye on the room Kitty was in without being heard. "Think she's here because of the blood?" Wally asked deciding to get straight to the point. Robin nodded, there were just far too many coincidences to ignore. "Something happened," Robin finally decided to share, "Something big enough to need Kitty moved to another team."

"So you think she was on a team before too huh?" Wally asked, making sure to keep his voice as quiet as possible. The raven teen nodded, the girl was too good, too skilled not to have been on a team. "So what do we know for sure?" Wally asked, mentally searching his own memories for clues while Robin started tapping away on his wrist computer. "We know she's a Mutant," Robin replied, reading off a list he'd created, of course he had a list, "There was blood found on the back of her shirt and she's currently getting a phsyical from a Doctor who flew in specifically to check up on her."

Blue eyes met green as they suddenly began to start making connections. "Blood on the shirt," Wally muttered, his green eyes going extra-wide as Robin nodded picking up on what his friend was thinking. "Black Canary struck her back during training," Robin agreed, they'd both watched her take a tumble after that blow and now it seemed they knew why. "She didn't want to go swimming," Wally muttered. Wearing a swimsuit would had given the team a good view of her back and therefore the reason for the blood.

"So something happened," Robin told him, "Something big enough to require stitches. She's been here almost two weeks, standard healing time to have stitches removed. It also has to be something big enough to bring her here. They have two active teams so if there was a problem with one, they'd naturally switch her to the other team." Wally and Robin sat in silence for a moment pondering what could possibly be bad enough to require the little mutant being shifted to a completely different group. "Do we ask her?" Wally asked, his eyes pleading with Robin to say yes, but the raven teen merely shook his head and Wally understood. If Kitty wanted to tell them, she would. Trying to get her to open up before she was ready would likely just force her away from the team and if they were right, she needed this team as much as they were starting to need her.

Jean was an excellent cook, mesmerizing the team with a display of her telepathic abilities with pots, pans and ingredients levitating themselves around the kitchen while she baked up a storm. Kitty had taken up residence at one end of the bench top picking at ingredients and utensils as they floated by, completely focused on her own little cooking task. M'gann's face was a look of rapture, seeing an older telepath with so much control over her abilities who had also specialized in a profession.

Wally and Robin snuck around the group to pull up a couple of stools opposite Kitty, the red-head watching intently as she beat egg whites. "How are you feeling?" Wally asked not so subtly, earning him a sharp jab in the ribs from Robin as Kitty blinked up at them with wide eyes. "He meant your back," Robin soothed, inwardly rolling his eyes at his best friend, "Since you said it was still a little sore yesterday." Kitty visibly deflated, her eyes softening as a small smile crept on to her face, glad she had such great friends to care about her. "Oh, still a little stiff," Kitty replied, "But nothing a good night's rest won't fix."

Dinner was a feast of epic proportions that night with Jean making both pizza and pasta to satisfy the hungry brood, while Kitty had managed to knock up a dessert. Wally's eyes lit up when he saw the meringue cups laden with berries and cream. "Kitkat," Wally sighed, biting into his own treat, "Keep this up and I might just have to marry you."

Wally's flippant statement had mixed reactions around the table. Dick started choking on a berry while Kaldur's spoon dropped off the plate. M'gann giggled, a faint smile gracing her lips as Artemis suddenly pushed her dessert away with Jean watching them all, an interested smile on her face. Kitty didn't seem to realize the comment had any implications as she patted Wally's head while smiling brightly. "Good to know my cooking's appreciated," she giggled out while collecting the finished plates and moving them to the kitchen sink. Wally just grinned brightly while asking for seconds.

Robin smiled at his friend as they walked to the portal with Artemis, Wally whistling cheerfully the whole way. "Kitty should cook more often," the red-head suddenly told them, making Robin smack himself in the forehead as Artemis's eyes snapped to Wally. "Please," the blonde archer bit out, "I've had better food in a local diner." Artemis marched past them and into the portal before they could say another word. The green-eyed hero turned his gaze to Robin. "You liked her cooking right?" Wally asked, hoping to get a better reaction from his friend. Robin tilted his head, while it was true that her dessert had been good, he'd found himself enjoying watching her prepare it more. Kitty had a habit of sticking her tongue out of the side of her mouth as she concentrated, the expression quickly morphing to a small smile when she got things right. "I wonder if she knew," Robin replied, deciding to leave his friend with one last tease, "that berries were my favourite." The raven teen snickered to himself as he stepped into the portal, thinking of the flabbergasted look on Wally's face.

***Please leave a vote for either WITTY or WONDERCAT***

May your thoughts and creativity flow,

Lady Ami DragonHeart


	9. Chapter 9

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon that saw Robin and Wally escorting Kitty to Happy Harbor's ice cream parlor. The mutant girl had been helping Wally study all morning for their big exam on Monday while Robin worked frantically on an assignment and they felt the were due for a break. M'gann and Conner were away on a mission together, they'd left late the previous night as per Batman's directives. Artemis had opted to make use of the free training room to turn it into an archery field while Kaldur relaxed in the ocean.

The three friends shared a couple of sundaes at one of the booths and by shared they meant Kitty and Robin split a Sundae while Wally had his own. The two younger heroes giggled away as their friend's shoveling meant more ended up on his face then in his mouth. Of course, the real reason for the three of them getting away from the rest of the group was to give Kitty a chance to open up to them, but an hour of idle chatter later and they knew they couldn't put off their school work any longer so the trio trudged back to Mount Justice only to find Roy waiting for them when they arrived.

Their ex-team member had managed to track down a location on Ra's al Ghul and wanted a little back-up on the case. "I'll go," Artemis told him, earning her a sharp look from the older archer. He had a feeling Cheshire would be there and didn't want the blonde along for the ride. "No thanks," Roy sneered, eyeing her disdainfully, "I don't need any lead weight on my team." Wally and Robin were about to add their names to the list but Kaldur shot them down, reminding them of their school work.

"I'll do it," Kitty piped up bringing Roy's gaze to her for the first time. The archer's piercing gaze wandered over her small frame before smirking, she didn't look big enough to lift a book, let alone fight. "Sorry kid, heroes only," Roy told her shaking his head at the caliber of people the League were letting in these days. Kaldur silenced Wally and Robin's protests with a hand before stepping up to Kitty's side. "She is one of us," Kaldur told the archer firmly, "And if we cannot have Robin on the team, it would be wise to bring a hacker along with us. You let me worry about her skills."

The young girl nodded and raced to suit up, Artemis not far behind her. If Kitty was going there was no way she was being left behind. The moment th girls left Wally and Robin rounded on Roy. "You take care of her," they told him in no uncertain terms, much to Kaldur's surprise, "No matter what happens, you make sure you bring Kitty back unharmed." Roy raised an eyebrow, he left the team only to come back and find that not only had they welcomed another new team mate, but that she'd also earned herself a place of esteem in not only Wally's but Robin's eyes too, possibly even their hearts. "I don't leave people behind," Roy told them, attempting to soothe their ruffled feathers.

The moment Kitty returned Wally and Robin pulled her aside. 'Listen to Kaldur," the speedster told her, "Do everything he tells you, no matter what." Kitty nodded solemnly, this was her chance to make up for the last fiasco and there was no way she was going to blow it. Not this time. The mutant girl went to rejoin the group when Robin stopped her. "Wait," the raven teen called out, rushing over to take her belt off, replacing it with his own, "You're going to be the technical support on this, so you're going to need equipment." Four pairs of eyes bugged out at the sight of Robin's tact-belt on Kitty's waist, the hero was extremely possessive of his utility belt and only ever let Batman near it. "We'll stay near a computer," Robin continued, "So if you have any questions, just say the word." The small brunette hugged Robin tightly before collecting her katanas and leading the way to the hanger, it was time to take the Quin-jet out for a spin.

"She'll be fine, yeah?" Wally asked as they watched the Quin-jet leave with Kitty at it's helm, "I mean, she's like totally ninja and she'll phase at the first sing of trouble right?" Robin nodded, squinting through the moonlight to watch the team fly off without them. "She's smart," the raven teen replied, "She's a good fighter and she's got my utility belt. She'll be fine." The worried pair made their way to the lounge to set up a computer for communications. They knew they were supposed to be focusing on their school work, but both knew they wouldn't get much done until the team were back.

Roy sat at the controls beside Kitty, watching as the young girl piloted the craft effortlessly with Kaldur and Artemis sitting in the back with an arrangement of gear to choose from if required. The older archer had to admit he was impressed, both with her skills so far and her aircraft. Unlike the other League jets, this one seemed to have been set up for attack as well as defense. The controls in front of him were marked for various gun turrets and blasters distributed throughout the ship, while the rest of the craft boasted storage space for any armament required for a mission. "Cloaking on," Kitty told them, flicking a few switches to activate the camouflage feature before decreasing altitude and finding a landing space.

It seemed Ra's al Ghul favoured temples as the co-ordinates led them to a Taoist Monastery. Kaldur signaled for Kitty to get a better view, the mutant quickly scurrying up a tree for a better look around before scarpering down just as fast. "The trees are closer on the east side, but there's also more spotlights on that side," Kitty told them quietly, "but if I can slip in, I can re-direct them for a few moments, enough to give you a blind spot in." Roy's eyes widened, he hadn't expected the rookie to be willing to take such a risk, solo op's were usually his ploy.

"What do you need?" Kaldur asked, eyeing the situation as best he could. He didn't want the young girl taking unnecessary risks, especially since it seemed Wally and Robin were likely to launch their own war if she didn't make it back. "A boost," Kitty replied, pointing to the roof. The mutant girl unsheathed her katanas and braced her knees while Kaldur summoned water to catapult her into the air. The moment her feet touched the roof, the team ran to get into position and wait for her signal.

The older archer watched as the young girl raced across the roof, her feet and the hilts of her blades quickly silencing any who would raise the alarm. Shadowcat slid into a room, hacking the computer system and reorganising the spotlighting movements to allow for a small window before slipping back out the window and sliding to the ground to meet the team. Getting to work on the door, Kitty had the lock picked by the time the other three heroes reached her.

Once inside, Roy took point with Kitty right behind him, Artemis watching their backs and Kaldur bringing up the rear. "We split up," Roy told them knowing the temple would be too large to search as a group, "Kaldur, you take this floor, Artemis the courtyards, I'll take the upper level and Kitty, see what you can do about the surveillance system."

The small girl nodded, racing off as fast as she could to find a computer with the right connections. It didn't take the girl long to tap the feeds, looping tapes to make them practically invisible. From then, it was just a matter of watching the real surveillance, muttering quietly to give the team a heads-up on patrols coming their way, until she found something far more interesting.

Kitty was just removing the USB from the computer when a woman in green with a white cat's mask entered. "Well, well, well," the woman practically purred as she stalked closer to Kitty, "So you're the reason for the surveillance loop hmm?" Kitty slid her hand under the table, phasing the limb to pass through the computer tower. If they'd been found out, the best thing she could do for the team was to kill the motherboard.

Shadowcat slid to the other side of the table, keeping her eyes on the other woman before making a break for the door. Cheshire Cat took chase, needing to stop the girl from raising the alarm. Sporstmaster was currently closing in on Red Arrow while teams were converging on Artemis and Kaldur, all she needed to do was keep this one little brat from alerting the other heroes.

Cheshire Cat dived for the girl, only to have her flip out of the way one hand going for her comm. "Move, move, move," Kitty called into her microphone, knowing stealth was no longer an option, "We've been made." Cheshire Cat made one last lunge for the girl, colliding with her as they both went over the railing of the second floor.

Roy spun just in time to see Kitty and Cheshire Cat go flying over the railings. His heart leaped into his mouth as he remembered Wally and Robin's warning before Kitty somehow managed to disentangle herself from the other woman and fire one of Robin's safety lines up to the roof. The archer was filled with relief as the girl flew up past him to the roof. The woman in green pushed herself back up, scaling the walls after the young mutant just as Sportsmaster found Roy.

Drawing her katanas, Kitty waited for the masked woman to reach her before launching an attack. The mutant ducked and twirled, her twin blades matching the Cheshire Cat's sais blow for blow. The brunette's feet worked just as fast, kicks blocking and parrying in time with her blades. Cheshire Cat's eyes widened behind the mask, she'd thought the small girl an obstetrical as best, but it seemed she'd underestimated her because the small girl was putting up a fight that put most trained warriors to shame. She was trained and well, her unique fighting style keeping Cheshire Cat on her toes. The masked woman knew she'd have to end this fight soon if she wanted to win.

Smiling from behind Robin's domino mask, Kitty ducked into a sweeping pirouette, a feint at knocking Cheshire Cat's legs out from under her, but the ploy was just enough to finish the maneuver with a snap-kick to the woman's chin. The mutant girl was about to break out Robin's rope when Roy's cry alerted her to the others. Grabbing the woman's sais, she quickly stabbed them through Cheshire Cat's clothes and in to the roof to pin her in place until she could help Roy. Sliding down the support beam, Kitty spotted the masked man standing over Roy. Using her weight as a counter-balance, the girl spun around the wooden post to slam her feet into his chest, another round-house driving him away from Roy. The archer stood, giving her a nod of thanks before continuing the battle.

A solid blow to the back sent Kitty flying down to the ground level, Cheshire Cat not far behind her. The masked woman spun her blades before lunging, not giving Kitty a chance to recover. The brunette rolled away, springing back to her feet, her swords glinting in the moonlight. The pair clashed once more, blades screaming for blood as they dug deep, neither wanting to conceded a victory. Kitty spun, twisting her katanas to connect with the sais from the side.

Kitty grinned as the Adamantium did their work, shearing the blades off at the hilt. Cheshire Cat dropped the useless hilts, freezing as the deadly points of Kitty's katanas slid under her chin. The masked woman was about to admit defeat for the the first time in her life when a single arrow flew at Kitty, making the girl jump backwards to avoid it. Cheshire Cat took her moment of weakness to land a kick to the gut and run. Kitty slumped to the ground more than a little winded as the other three heroes joined her, their own battles either finished or escaped.

Roy knelt to check on the girl helping her to sit up as Kaldur scanned the area. He'd seen Kitty end the fight but when he turned back around she was on the floor. Something didn't sit right with him and he scanned the area until his eyes finally found a single gleam of silver. A lone arrow.

Roy lifted the mutant girl into his arms, carrying her as they ran back to the jet knowing they'd need her to catch her breath if they wanted her to pilot them back. Looking down at the girl in his arms he could see why she'd been added to the team. Her fierce bravery was only matched by her loyalty and skill with a blade. She'd left her own battle to aid him, a move that had cost her but had possibly saved his life, yet staring down at her Roy couldn't help thinking there was still more to her than first thought. In the end, he guessed only time would tell if she was ready to share those secrets.

Robin and Wally were already pacing the hanger with Lockheed perched anxiously on the red-head's shoulder by the time the Quin-jet came in to view. A very tired Roy stalked out, one arm around Kitty, supporting her as she made her way over to the nervous trio. The red-head and the raven didn't even let her get three steps off the jet before they'd shoved Roy aside and helped her over to a chair.

"What happened?" Robin asked, his voice icy and quiet as he viewed their tired, defeated faces. Artemis rolled her eyes, the blonde archer the more refreshed out of the lot, having had less physical interaction with the enemy. "Princess Kitty decided to take on Cheshire Cat and had her arse handed to her," Artemis told them snidely, "Oh and she failed to maintain the surveillance loop to keep us from being noticed."

"I'm sorry," Kitty told them all, hanging her head in shame, "I thought my security hack would last. I didn't realize they'd pick up on the loop." Robin patted the girl's shoulder knowing better then anyone that sometimes it didn't matter what you did, once someone noticed the loop it was all over. Roy surprised everyone by striding over to kneel before the depressed girl.

"It wasn't your fault," Red Arrow told her placing a gentle hand on her knee, "You did your best. Besides, very few can say they've fought the Cheshire Cat and lived. At the very least you can be proud of that." With one final nod, Roy stalked out of the hanger, turning around at the last minute to make eye contact with Kaldur. They would discuss the arrow at a later date, for now the team needed sleep.

"'Seriously Kitkat?" Wally asked incredulously, "You actually crossed blades with the Cheshire Cat?" Kitty nodded, feeling slightly better about how the evening had ended, she just wished she'd remembered there were more opponents than just the one she was facing. "Congratulations," Robin told her, beaming brightly, "I'm officially whelmed."

Kaldur and Artemis left as Kitty stood, giggling slightly as she removed Robin's belt. "Thank you," she told him smiling softly, "You're belt kind of saved me." Robin's grin widened, glad he'd been able to help even if he wasn't there to aid her himself. "Too bad it couldn't save this," the mutant girl pulled out a crushed USB stick, it must have broken when she'd fell, "I found the main computer and downloaded all the files I could, but I guess I shouldn't have bothered. At least I managed to fry the motherboard huh?"

Robin held the USB stick up to the light, it was badly damaged but maybe Batman could help him try to salvage some data off the stick. "Nicely done," Robin told her, "I doubt the others would've thought to steal files." Kitty grinned, feeling much better about the evening now Robin and Wally were going out of their way to make her smile. Robin stalked off to collect his books and take the USB to the Bat Cave, he just knew Batman would appreciate Kitty's initiative. Wally took the opportunity to carry her up to her room, telling her stories as she huddled under the covers until she drifted off, her head tucked under his chin. The red-head shifted the blankets, glad for the chance to sleep in a little the next day. His worry over the tiny brunette had left him far more exhausted then running at super speed all over Bialya had. Wally smiled as she shifted in her sleep, one arm moving to wrap around him as he finally fell asleep.

Well - the votes are in!

WITTY - a whopping 35 votes

WONDERCAT - 11

Looks like this fic is officially WITTY!

May your thoughts and creativity flow,

Lady Ami DragonHeart


	10. Chapter 10

Green eyes blinked blearily as the sunlight blinded them. Wally attempted to roll over to shield his gaze only to find a weight on his chest preventing him from moving. The red-head panicked momentarily before the mass of brown curls soothed his anxious heart. Sinking back in to the bed, his strong tanned hand reached up to stroke the brunette's hair, gently teasing each curl and knot out of her soft tendrils.

Kitty snuffled softly, slowly waking to the sensation of fingers threading themselves through her hair, finger-combing her wayward curls. The girl burrowed in to the warm mass beside her enjoying the heat spreading through her body, but the moment she shifted the fingers halted their progress. "Don't stop," Kitty murmured sleepily nuzzling her face further into Wally's chest, "It felt so good." Wally chuckled softly before returning his hand to her soft curls. "It reminds me of better times," Kitty mumbled earning an inquisitive noise of inflection from Wally.

"When I was feeling down or upset my mother used to run her fingers through my hair," Kitty told him tilting her head further into his hand, "The moment she touched my curls it was like the world just faded away, like it was just the two of us. Then my powers began to appear. I'd wake up in the basement not knowing how I got there. My parents thought I was sleep walking until one night they looked up and saw my bedding suspended from the ceiling having been half-phased through." Kitty buried her face into Wally's shirt in an attempt to hide the tears beginning to well in her eyes.

"Kitty, what happened?" Wally asked the moment he felt the dampness hit his shirt, his fingers tilting her face so he could see her blue eyes. The mutant girl tried to stem her tears but they just began to fall harder. "My parents didn't want me after that," Kitty told him through the tears, "They didn't want a 'Freak' living in the house with them. They had my bags packed and out the door before I even knew what was going on." Green eyes closed themselves tightly, trying to wish away his own tears as he held the girl tightly to his chest.

"I'm so sorry Kitty," Wally told her, one hand gently rubbing her shoulder as the other pulled her in close so he could drop a gentle kiss to her hair. Wally knew better than anyone what it was like, to feel unwanted by your own parents. "I'm lucky though," Kitty told him, her soft voice breaking with emotion, "Professor Xavier was waiting for me down the street. He took me away and taught me how to control my abilities. Besides," Kitty pushed herself up so she could see his face, "If they hadn't kicked me out, maybe I wouldn't have met you and that would be a shame."

Wally muttered her name as he pulled her in for a cuddle, her tiny body molding to his as she sought out his warmth. Thinking about the tiny girl in his arms his thoughts turned to his own family, not his parents but his Aunt and Uncle. He loved living with them and his Grandparents. Green eyes snapped open as a bold idea formed in his mind.

Kitty smiled softly as Wally led her through the streets of Keystone, her bag over his shoulder as he regaled her with stories of his misguided youth. The young girl eyed him strangely as he strode up the steps of a house, whipping out a key to the door and letting himself in. "Come on Kitkat," Wally told her impatiently, "We need somewhere to study right?" The speedster grinned as she scurried up the stairs to catch up, glad he'd managed to talk her into packing a bag with clothes and her school books. It was time to show her what a real family was. The exuberant boy quickly dragged her through the house to introduce her to his Aunt and Uncle before sitting them both down on the couch to start studying.

"Are you a friend from school or..." Barry looked the girl over not wanting to jump to conclusions and accidentally give his nephew's secret identity away. "Both," Kitty replied smiling brightly, "They call me Shadowcat." Barry smiled back glad his son had found a friend who could bridge the gap between his two lives before turning his sharp sight to Wally's grin. The older hero patted the mutant girl on the shoulder, he could tell she was going to be good for Wally.

"The oven's gone again," Aunt Iris called out to her husband, prompting the man to vacate lounge room to begin taking the oven apart again. "It always does that," Wally whispered conspiratorially, "I don't know why they don't just buy a new one. It breaks down at least twice a week." The mutant girl focused his attention back to his maths before heading towards the kitchen.

"Mind if I take a look?" Kitty asked peering at the mess of parts strewn across the floor. Barry waved a hand to the mess as Wally's Grandpa stalked in to take a look to. Her big blue eyes surveyed the situation, her fingers quickly checking a few connections before she turned to Barry. "It's the connection to the heating filament," Kitty told him earning a snicker from Flash Senior, "If you have a nine millimeter Phillips head, a set of needle-nose pliers and some three millimeter copper wire I can get this patched up in a jiffy." Wally's head popped over the counter, the young hero chuckling at his Uncle and Grandpa's stunned faces. Kitty's head swiveled to pierce him with a hard gaze before she told him, "And this doesn't constitute maths Mr and I expect the chapters on Pythagoras and Second Derivatives completed by the time I put this oven back together." Barry ran to grab the requested items as Wally's Grandpa chuckled at his grandson racing back to the couch to finish the requested chapters. "If he gets an A on this maths test," Iris told her father-in-law, "I'm adopting her."

True to her word, Kitty had the over fixed and better then ever, testing it out by baking an extra-large batch of chocolate chip cookies. Barry and Iris laughed as Wally's nose had him racing in to the kitchen only to have his hand slapped by the spatula. "Did you finish the chapters?" Kitty asked, earning a dutiful nod from Wally before the girl handed over a plate of the sweet treats, "Then I guess you can have these." The brunette slid a second plate over to Barry who gratefully accepted the offering. "Kitkat," Wally sighed out, munching on his serving of chocolate delights, "Have I told you that you're an angel?" The mutant girl smiled while shaking her head, leading the boy back to his school books and the marathon of studying they still had left.

"So is that your ability?" Flash Senior asked Kitty as they sat down as a family for dinner, "Fixing machines?" The brunette smiled bashfully, after not having a family for so long it was almost overwhelming to be in such a loving environment. "No, I'm just tech-intuitive," Kitty replied earning a raised eyebrow from Barry, "I'm not quite sure how to explain it, but it's like the moment I see something my hands just seem to know what to do. I'm actually a Mutant."

"That's a terrible thing to say," Iris chided, "You shouldn't be so self-depreciative." Kitty and Wally shared a look before bursting out in a fit of laughter with Kitty laughing so hard the speedster had to explain for her. "That's what they call themselves," the young hero replied, "It's because they all have a genetic mutation that gives them their abilities."

"So what's your power then?" Barry asked, wondering what abilities Batman had seen in the girl to put her on the team. Kitty and Wally shared a look before the girl raised her hand up through the table without even leaving a mark. "I control the corporeal," the Mutant girl explained, "Which is just a fancy was of saying I can walk through walls."

"Good," Flash senior crowed with delight, "Maybe you can teach Wally how to." The teen in question groaned, dropping his head to the table. Both his Uncle and Grandpa could travel through walls with absolutely no problem but the moment he tried all he got was a blood nose. "Or we could just do this," Kitty grinned back, swiping Wally's hand before phasing them both through the floorboards and back. Wally smiled softly, glad she felt comfortable to let lose and show off her abilities in front of his family. "Now that is a neat trick," Wally's Grandpa cackled, he was liking the Mutant girl more and more. It was about time his grandson brought a nice girl home to meet the family, and the fact that she knew about his powers and had abilities of her own just made it even better. "Of course, when she's not phasing through solid objects," Wally cut in, slightly enjoying embarrassing her, "She's also like completely ninja with the martial arts and katanas and everything."

After hearing that Kitty had formal martial arts and dance training, Wally's Grandparents and Aunt and Uncle requested a demonstration. After a quick show with a couple of thin pieces of plywood standing in for her katanas, Kitty apologized profusely for not having her ballet shoes and having to do something more contemporary. The four adults clapped, all agreeing she was a talented dancer and couldn't wait to see her perform again.

Wally escorted a blushing Kitty up to bed. His Uncle had brought a spare mattress in for him so the Mutant girl could take his bed. With them both having an exam the next day, it made more sense for them to both leave from his house. Snuggling in under the covers, the brunette stretched a hand down to curl her fingers around the speedster's. "Good night Wally," Kitty mumbled sleepily, nuzzling into his pillow, "Thanks for today." Wally smiled up at her, pleased he could show her that no parents didn't mean no family. They slept with their fingers entwined for the rest of the night.

May your thoughts and creativity flow,

Lady Ami DragonHeart


	11. Chapter 11

A couple of weeks, and a few missions later saw Robin and Kitty sitting on the side of the training area watching the others working hard. Wally and Kaldur were testing their agility on an obstical course, M'gann was testing the limits of her control by trying to levitate as many objects as possible, Conner was playing with Wolf and Artemis had just finished up with some light cardio to move on to archery practice. Robin glanced over at a giggling Kitty who nodded over at Artemis just in time for the raven teen to see the blonde archer being squirted in the face with her own bow the moment she drew the string.

The blonde's shriek was enough to gain the attention of the entire group, letting them all see the dripping wet archer glaring murderously at Kitty. "You!" Artemis spat out, storming over to confront the mutant girl, "You did this." The girl in green went to take a swipe at the brunette only to have her fist past straight through her and almost connect with Robin, but the raven teen merely caught her fist and twisted it. "I'd prefer it if you didn't try to hit me," Robin told her evenly before releasing her fist. Artemis gave one last guttural cry before storming off, Kitty and Robin snickering as she left.

Ever since Kitty and Wally had arrived after school with their little fingers still entwined after the girl spending the night at Wally's, Artemis had gone out of her way to try to prank the young mutant. Of course, what the archer had failed to note was that pranking a girl who spent more time walking through walls then actually opening doors meant most of the pranks had backfired on Artemis herself, while a few had been sprung by other unsuspecting teenage heroes. It had taken Kitty a few days to realize the pranks were for her, but since then the brunette had set up numerous pranks of her own, all of which had humourous results when triggered by the furious blonde. Of course, Artemis had sealed her own fate when one of her pranks had accidentally been triggered by Robin. The raven teen had taken revenge by choosing to actively take Kitty's side and help the little mutant, which had left some rather spectacular results, the most impressive of which had been altering Artemis's suit so that it changed colour once worn to a lurid pink.

"That was inspired," Robin congratulated, thoroughly enjoying the prank even if Artemis hadn't, "I have to admit, I underestimated you. I didn't think you'd actually sabotage her bow. There might just be a little bit of am evil genius buried under all that feigned innocence." Kitty merely grinned in reply, while she normally wouldn't sink to fighting fire with fire, there was just something so completely satisfying in watching a prank work just the way she'd planned it to.

Kaldur chuckled to himself, while he didn't condone the practice of pranks, he couldn't help but feel just a little proud of Kitty for holding her own. Artemis's jealousies had gotten the better of her and she'd jeopardized both a mission and a team mate, neither made the water hero particularly proud of her. He hoped the archer would see the error of her ways soon, because the worry was beginning to show on Wally.

Green eyes flicked towards Kitty disappointingly before the speedster went in search of Artemis. The first few days of pranks had Wally giving Artemis a cold shoulder, which only seemed to spur the blonde on, making her pranks more embarrassing and humiliating for whoever triggered them. Then Kitty had started firing back and at first the red-head had been proud or such wicked accuracy, but it seemed with each prank they seemed to soar to new lows in trying to beat the other. Wally shook his head, while he had sort of expected it from Artemis, the archer being all prickles and thorns, he'd honestly expected more of Kitty. He just didn't know what had gotten in to his sweet girl, but the way things were going he was starting to feel more than a little tired. It felt like he was caught in the middle of the pair and slowly being torn in two and he didn't know how much longer he could keep it up.

Artemis kicked the wall viciously, if it hadn't been bad enough that Kitty had almost caught her sister, then Roy had the audacity to actually like her. He had given the little mutant his approval when all he had for her was snide comments. Then Kaldur had to find her arrow, the one that had stopped Kitty from capturing the Cheshire Cat, the one that had led to Roy giving her an earful. The older archer had taken her aside and verbally stripped her, giving her the dressing down of her life. His biting words had done what no one else could manage, reduce her to a whimpering child, with Kaldur watching the whole time. Then, to top the whole fiasco off, the brunette had some sort of sixth sense preventing her from setting off the numerous pranks she'd spend hours planning and arranging only to have the girl manage to prank her back every single time. Artemis sighed, stalking off for a nice, long shower to ease her stressed body.

Robin sat on a stool by the counter watching Kitty and M'gann making dinner, the young hero muttering things to the mutant girl to ease her worry. The brunette was more then a little upset by Wally's reaction, having already marked that as her final prank before calling it quits, but his disappointment had hit her far harder then she had expected. The worried girl's hand shook as waves of emotion threatened to overwhelm her until the knife bit into her finger instead of the vegetables.

"Okay, that's enough," Robin told her, tugging the knife out of her hands and pulling her into the lounge, "Just sit tight and let me take a look." Lockheed flew down, his tiny claws gripping the first aid kit Robin was so intimately acquainted with. The raven boy quickly treated and bandaged the wound before sliding an arm around her and pulling her close. He knew that no words of his would undo the damage of Wally's and he just hoped his friend would be so quick to forgive as he usually did.

The speedster in question finally stalked into the lounge room, having followed his stomach into recognizing dinner time only to freeze at the sight of Robin and Kitty curled up on the lounge together. Refusing to acknowledge them the red-head quickly took a seat on the far side of the couch. He didn't understand why, but somehow seeing the pair together felt like a punch to the gut.

Just as M'gann was finishing up in the kitchen a shriek split the air soon followed by a livid Artemis storming in, her hair now a poisonous shade of green. "I hate you," the archer screamed at Kitty, making the girl's eyes widen at the sight, "pranking me wasn't enough for you? You had to destroy my hair too?" The older girl stormed straight back out, heading for her quarters. "I will never forgive you for this," Artemis snapped out, a parting shot as she disappeared down the hall.

"How could you Kitty?" Wally asked, the disappointment clear in his voice, "The pranking was low enough, but this has gone too far. I expected more of you." The speedster stood, crossing the floor in a few short strides, making sure not to stare at the girls' face. "Where did my angel go?" Wally asked, his green eyes heavy with emotion as he left the room, heading after Artemis to see if they could try to save her hair.

Kitty merely sat there, her entire body shaking with tears until Robin finally managed to drag her off the chair and escort her up to her own room. The pair sat on her bed, the raven haired boy cradling her sobbing form, attempting to sooth her tears away until she finally cried herself to sleep. The acrobat stayed with her for a while, waiting until she was fast asleep before sliding out from under her. He needed to talk to his best friend and he needed to make sure he listened.

The raven teen finally found his friend sitting on a rock outside, watching the waves lap the shore. "We need to talk," Robin told him, earning him a raised eyebrow from the red-head, "look, what just happened in there..." Whatever Robin had planned on saying was promptly thrown out the window when three little words suddenly flowed out of Wally's mouth.

"She kissed me," Wally told him, a stunned look on his face, "I went to comfort her and she kissed me." Robin's mouth moved in a perfect imitation of a guppy's for a few moments, all thought having flown out the window the moment his friend had spoken. "That's a good thing thought, right?" Robin asked, he'd seen how taken Wally had been with the blonde, once he'd finally gotten over her taking Roy's place of course. He'd seen their snarking for flirting, like some weird fertility dance, at least until Kitty joined the team.

"You'd think so," Wally told him, eyes still fixed on the ocean tides, "You'd think it'd be every guy's dream to be kissed by a pretty girl and yet, when she kissed me, I didn't feel anything." Robin closed his eyes, he finally saw the whole picture and now he wasn't sure he wanted to. Someone's heart was going to be broken, and he didn't think the team would be the same after this. "She doesn't make you smile the moment she walks into the room," Robin told him, earning a stunned nod from his friend, "she doesn't make you light up just by hearing her voice." Wally nodded eagerly, glad someone understood what he was going through.

"How did you know?" Wally asked, staring at his friend in shock. Robin gave him a sardonic grin, keeping his eyes fixated on a point somewhere beyond the horizon, he could feel his own heart breaking with every word. He'd been distant at first, watching, waiting to see if her mask would drop but it never did. She was such a genuinely kind person, but then the layers had started to show and he'd expected to be horrified, but with every layer he unraveled, he'd liked her more and more.

"You need to talk to Kitty," Robin told him suddenly glad for always wearing his sunglasses when not in uniform. Wally stumbled out a why, his gaze locked on the smaller boy. "Because you make her smile," Robin replied as if it were the simplest answer in the world, "and because I put the hair dye in Artemis's shampoo."

Racing to Kitty's room, Wally was disappointed to find she had already fallen asleep. Standing there, watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest he felt a pang of longing strike his chest. He wanted nothing more then to slide in beside her, pull her close and reassure her that she was still his angel. Not wanting to disturb her, the red head reluctantly stepped back out into the hallway and headed to his own room.

He'd just dropped his head to the pillow when alarms began to ring. Wally leaped out of bed, the alarms meant someone who shouldn't be there had managed to enter Headquarters. It wasn't long before he caught up with Kaldur and Conner, the pair already chasing the intruder. Robin, Artemis and M'gann joined them as they cornered their prey in the lounge. "Peter?" a small voice asked, halting all movement as the mutant girl appeared before them, leaping into the stranger's arms. "Way to blow my secret identity Care Bear," Peter replied, holding her with one arm while removing his mask.

May your thoughts and creativity flow,

Lady Ami DragonHeart


	12. Chapter 12

"What are you doing here Peter?" Kitty asked, her big blue eyes staring up at the strange man. Peter chuckled, one hand sheepishly scratching the back of his head. "What?" Peter asked, "I need a reason to visit you now?" The brunette fixed him with a look. "Okay so I wanted to check up and see how you were healing," the older brunette told her, "And I wanted to know how you were doing." Peter sat down on the couch with Kitty curling up like a kitten in his lap.

"What do you mean 'healing'? Artemis surprised the team by asking, "Healing from what?" The young heroes moved to sit on the lounge so they could face her. Peter looked at Kitty, accusation written across his face. "You didn't tell them?" Peter asked, his voice laden with worry.

"I can't" Kitty mumbled softly, "Please don't make me." Peter hugged her tighter as her little body began to shake with tears once more. Wally's green eyes filled with envy when he saw Peter's blue-gloved hand reach up and stroke her back. Kitty never let anyone touch her back. "Come on Care Bear," Peter urged her gently, "You owe it to them to know the truth."

Kitty shook her head, her body wracked with sobs. "I can't do it," she muttered once more, 'If I say it, if I say those words out loud, it'll make them true. Please don't make it true." Peter looked at her with sad eyes, he knew how much it had cost her to tell him the whole story but he also knew that her new team needed to know. "You need this Care Bear," the brunette hero told her, "You need to talk about it so you can move on." Kitty sighed and nodded, burrowing further into his arms before the words came softly out of her mouth, her voice barely more than a whisper.

_Kitty raced through the streets, John pounded the pavement beside her. A fair had come to a school on the other side of New York and it had taken them a lot of sneaking and creeping to escape the school grounds without the teachers catching them. They'd spent the afternoon gasping and giggling along with the crowd as the animals and people had performed their tricks. They were dodging traffic on the way back to school when they noticed the army trucks._

_Kitty turned to John, about to ask him what they should do, but he didn't seem all that surprised by their presence. Turning back to the scene she started to back away when John grabbed her, preventing her escape. Kitty started to panic, especially when she found her abilities weren't working. Wide eyes took in the inhibitors positioned on the top of every van before turning back to John. "Sorry Kitty," John told her, a sly smirk appearing on his face, "It was you or me, and thankfully they want you more than me." Rough hands shoved her forward, pushing her into the grasp of several soldiers before John ran for it._

_Kitty twisted and kicked, lashing out with feet and fingernails, scrabbling for purchase on any tender spots she could find. The girl had almost reached the edge of the inhibitor field when two blades of searing energy surged into her small body. She collapsed to the bitumen, the black rock scraping at her arms and face as her body convulsed with the electricity consuming her body._

_That was when she saw his face, General William Stryker, the man behind the anti-mutant protests, the man lobbying for all mutants to be rounded up and put to death. He crouched down in front of her, eyes boring into hers as he pressed the trigger on his taser once more, enjoying the guttural cries of pain tearing her raw throat apart. "Well aren't you a pretty little animal," he told her, one hand gripping her chin hard enough to bruise, "You're going to be quite the toy when I'm finished training you." He nodded to one of his underlings. "Load her in the back," he barked out, turning to direct the rest of his men, "Pack it up, we've got the prize we wanted."_

_More rough hands pulled and tugged at her, half dragging her towards the back of one of the trucks when suddenly the pressure was gone. Her body fell the moment the soldier let go, only to find herself in the arms of another. Her head rolled limply, just letting her eyes take in the red and blue webbed outfit of New York's resident Spiderman._

"_Hey," her savior told her gently as he helped her stand, "You have to stay with me, you hear?" He spun, shooting webs at all of the men pointing guns at them before hoisting her back into his arms and swinging them both away from the cluster of trucks. Helping her gain her feet he glanced back at the soldiers. "I'd suggest running if you can," he told her, giving her a gentle nudge in the direction of an alley outside the inhibitors range before swinging back into the fray, his lithe form and acrobatic tricks more than a match for the squad of burly men._

_With one last look at her savior Kitty ran, her feet stumbling over the pavement as she made for her safety. If she could just make it to that alley, if she could just make it out of the inhibitor field, she could phase away and no one would be able to catch her. She was just a few more steps away from freedom when it happened. A searing pain wracked her body, devouring her whole as she screamed harder then she ever had before._

_Spiderman turned just in time to watch a whip strike the poor girl's back, its bladed tip chewing into her flesh as it's claws raked her spine. Forgetting the rest of the mooks, he swung over, blasting a few webs to disorientate the man before scooping the girl up and swinging off into the night. Once he'd swept her out of the danger zone, he started to move more slowly. She was losing blood and a lot of it, but he couldn't take her to a hospital. There had been news crews present and any nurse would see her and dismiss her for being a mutant. Spiderman only had one option left._

_Slipping into the room, he ran downstairs calling for his Aunt May following her answering cries until he arrived in the kitchen. He held Kitty tightly while begging his Aunt to help her. The woman had been a nurse in her time and still helped out at the hospital when they needed an experienced hand. "We'll talk about your extra-curriculars later," Aunt May had promised before getting to work on cleaning and stitching the wound._

_After a tense night of Spiderman keeping a vigil by the girl's side, she finally started to show signs of healing. The colour returned to her cheeks and her skin began to warm the chill that had settled in her bones. He stayed there, one hand stroking her hair while the other held her hand until she finally opened her eyes._

_After John and General Styker, Kitty had refused to go back to school. Peter had even tried escorting her into the grounds, but the moment she laid eyes on any of her school friends, all she could see was John, her friend and a fellow mutant, betraying her. She'd stood there, frozen and shaking until Peter carried her back home._

_Aunt May had welcomed her back, milk and cookies waiting for her the moment they entered the house. The kind woman had not only taken well to the news of her nephew being a masked crime-fighter, but she'd also become quite taken with Kitty, treating her like the daughter she'd never had. From that moment on, Kitty was family and that was that. When Professor Xavier had come knocking to seek Kitty's return to school, Aunt May turned him right back around, even going so far as to chase Logan with a broom. It was Logan who had approached them a week later with transfer paperwork to send Kitty to a different school far away from Xavier's._

The group stared in shock as Kitty stood, turning around to lift the back of her shirt up to reveal a long, jagged still-healing scar reaching from one shoulder blade down to almost her hip. The wound was uneven, showing the numerous teeth that had ripped through her skin. Sliding her shirt back down, Kitty turned back, bracing herself for revulsion only to be encompassed in a warm embrace.

"I'm so sorry," Artemis told her, hugging the girl tightly, "I'm sorry for everything." Kitty smiled, tears flowing freely down her cheeks as she curled her fingers into the archer's clothes as she shook her head. "You didn't do anything," Kitty told her, "I should apologize to you, for all those stupid pranks." Kaldur smiled warmly, placing a hand on both girls' shoulders, glad they had finally put their differences aside.

"You're one of us," Kaldur assured her, his even tone soft to her ears, "We will never let anyone touch you like that again." M'gann threw herself at Kitty the moment Artemis let go, bawling her eyes out as she hugged the girl, Conner adding his own hesitant gesture to the mix. Robin was beside her the moment M'gann let go, staring at her for a moment before embracing her. "We'll protect you," Robin muttered in her ear, "All of us, we'll fight as hard as we have to to keep you safe from him."

Kitty turned her gaze to Wally as Robin's arms left her, dreading his reaction more than the others. The speedster sat there staring at her, a stunned look in his glassy eyes as tears fell down his face in rivers. "Wally?" Kitty asked nervously, unsure of what his reaction meant, "Say something. Please."

The red-head leaped out of the chair, moving so fast she barely saw him, his arms wrapping around her while his face buried itself in her hair. "I'll protect you," Wally told her, his arms a comforting bond she didn't want to break, "Please let me protect you." Her shivering sobs began to ebb away as Wally held her, one hand playing with her curls as the other wrapped around her hips. Kitty's fingers fisted themselves in the back of his shirt,her heart hammering her chest as she nodded. There was no one else she wanted coming to her rescue.

May your thoughts and creativity flow,

Lady Ami DragonHeart


	13. Chapter 13

The snapping of a shutter woke him, blue eyes blinking behind his trademark sunglasses. Robin turned his head to see Peter holding up an old camera, snapping a couple of shots of Kitty. The girl in question was still fast asleep on the couch, lying half on top of Wally whose arms had been left around her since he'd hugged her the night before. The ginger-haired boy had his face buried in her curls, while their legs were entwined beneath the blanket Peter had thrown over them after they'd fallen asleep together.

Conner and Kaldur had disappeared earlier the night before, Artemis not far behind them. Only M'gann and Robin had stayed, both claiming their own places on the long lounge, wanting to stay near Kitty. The raven teen snorted, it was interesting to think that the revelations of the night before had just served to make them all more protective of the tiny brunette. Now it would just be a matter of when Wally decided to realize his own feelings for what they were.

"It's good to see she's found someone who cares for her so much," Peter remarked, taking a seat next to Robin. The raven teen's head shot to the web-slinging hero's face. "You mean, you're not..." The acrobat flicked his gaze to Kitty and then back to Peter, trying to make his meaning clear. He'd seen the pair last night, the level of trust Kitty had in Peter and he'd feared for his friend's heart. "Hell no," Peter replied, pulling disgusted faces, "First off, ew. She's like my sister. Second, she's like my sister." Peter eyed the pair for a few moments more. "Are they...?" He asked, nodding his head towards the still sleeping pair. Robin snorted, his eyes taking in their entwined embrace. "Not yet," the raven teen replied, settling in to watch the inevitable awkwardness that would occur when they woke up.

Wally shifted slightly, his restless body despising the not-quite-comfortable surface he was resting on. A slight murmuring noise stilled him as his hands felt the warm body beside him. Remembering the revelations of the night before, the speedster found himself curling more protectively around the small girl's body. He could feel her beginning to wake up, his hand flying up to smooth her wayward curls, earning him a soft smile from the sleepy mutant.

"Morning," Kitty mumbled before burying her face back into his shirt, her legs tangling even further with his. Wally smiled, dropping a kiss to her curls while returning the greeting. The mutant girl propped herself up on Wally's chest to smile at him when a flash went off. "Peter!" Kitty whined, turning to stare at the brunette holding the camera poised apologetically.

The sounds of other people waking up had Wally and Kitty flying apart, Kitty racing off to her room to tame her hair and put on something more then her pajamas, Wally to suddenly find himself with Robin and Peter both staring at him with the same evil quirk in their smirks. Peter's gaze broke off the moment the blonde archer stepped into the room while Robin's look just got creepier. It wasn't until the rest of the team appeared, and Robin had completely wierded Wally out that the raven teen relented and joined in the conversation.

After the previous night, it was decided that no pending alien invasions meant a group bonding day, one they had decided would be spent at the mall in Happy Harbor since Wally kept complaining about Kitty's lack of clothes. Peter coasted along with the group, steering his skateboard along the road as Kitty kept pace in her in-line skates. When questioned about her choice of roller blades, Kitty had smiled, telling them that she used to love ice skating but roller blading was a more convenient alternative.

Reaching the mall, Kitty un-clipped the wheels from her shoes while Peter stowed his board before allowing the gang to lead them through the shops. It didn't take the group long to fall into a routine, M'gann and Artemis went through rack to rack pulling out various items to load the mutant girl with before shoving her into a changing room, the boys formed a panel of judges outside the fitting rooms, adjudicating each outfit. Wally and Peter's comments were enthusiastic, cat-calling and wolf whistles for good outfits, while head-shakes indicated a no. Robin, Conner and Kaldur were more subdued, the raven teen offering a critique on each ensemble while Kaldur would indicate if he thought it should be kept or tossed back with Conner simply nodding or shaking his head. Eventually M'gann and Artemis took to the changing rooms too, turning the outing into a mini fashion show. Robin even seemed happy to make use of Batman's credit card, telling them the trip was on him and to consider it payback for their mentor keeping secrets from them.

Settling down to lunch, the gang was glad they'd all decided to skip school that day, even though Robin knew he'd get an earful for it from Batman. Still, Robin decided he was justified for taking a day off. He was already miles ahead of the rest of the class and if Batman really wanted to push the issue, he'd fire back a quip about the team needing time to bond since Kitty's past had finally come out. If anyone understood about the team coming first, it was Batman.

It was after school had finished for the day that the trouble began. The girls had decided that a bikini was definitely on the requirements list for Kitty and quickly dragged her in to a surf shop. M'gann and Artemis had enjoyed debating colours and styles, once again loading the mutant girl up a selection to choose from before bundling her into the dressing rooms. The guys all sat dutifully on a bench outside the store, this being one of the few stores the staff had banned them from entering the changing rooms for. Conner turned to the others, his ears picking up a disturbance within the shop.

Kitty's hand fell to a pale blue number, the bikini far more daring then she'd usually wear before slipping it on. Artemis and M'gann had been great, their support giving her the courage to open the dressing room door and step out. The mutant girl shifted her legs shyly, not having shown this much skin, not even when she was figure skating, but the girls smiled brightly telling her it fit wonderfully. Turning to step back into the changing rooms, one of the other patrons caught sight of the red wound on her back.

"You'd think people would have the decency to cover stuff like that up," the girl scoffed, pointing the mark out to the rest of the girls in the stalls, "Mummy and Daddy didn't love you enough so you decided to slice yourself?" Artemis and M'gann rounded on the girl, both of them giving her an earful before turning back to Kitty's stall only to find the door closed. M'gann knocked hesitantly, murmuring soft words to try to coax the young girl to open the door only to be met with silence. Rolling her eyes, Artemis pushed the door open only to find an empty stall, Kitty and her clothes gone.

The two girls raced out of the store to find Kaldur and Conner having to physically restrain Wally and Peter. "Let me at them," Wally cried out still fighting furiously to move before seeing the worry on M'gann and Artemis's faces, "Conner told us what happened. Where is she?" M'gann shook her head, the poor martian girl close to tears. "She's gone," Artemis told them hanging her head, "She must have phased out through the back wall." No sooner were those words out of Artemis's mouth when Wally took off. He knew she couldn't have gone far, and if he ran fast enough, he'd be able to track her down pretty quickly. M'gann also took flight, cloaking herself so she could fly above the area and try to find the little mutant girl, leaving the rest of the gang to start tracking her on foot.

Wally finally found the girl sitting up on the bluffs under a tree, watching the ocean surging beneath her. The red-head sat down beside her, his hand typing out a quick text to the others to say where she was. "You know it's not true right?" Wally asked tentatively, his eyes roaming the rough waters down below, "What those girls said, it's not true. None of it." Shifting closer he stretched an arm around her shoulder, pulling her in to his side. Kitty dropped her head to his shoulder, tucking her face against his neck just as the rest of the group came up behind them.

"But it is," Kitty replied through her tears, "I'm damaged . I'm only useful as a weapon." Green eyes widened as he asked what she meant. "I can walk through walls and destroy electrical equipment," the mutant girl told him, " That's why Stryker wanted me. He has this serum that can make you do anything he wants you to. He could make me kill anyone he wanted and there's not a single security team that could stop me. What better way to start a war, then by using the very people you want to vilify?" She sniffed, trying to stop her tears before tilting her head to see Wally's face. "I don't want to be his puppet," she told him.

The red-head teen wrapped his arms around her, pulling her on to his lap. "That's never going to happen, you hear me?" Wally asked, forcing her to look at him, "Because I'm never going to let him get that close to you. I'll throw you on my back and blur you out of there if I have to, but I won't let him touch you. As for damaged," Wally smiled softly, tickling her sides slightly, "All I see is a sweet, little angel who had a jerk try to break her wings." Wally lifted the back of her shirt, making a point of looking at her scar. "Nope, not disgusted," the speedster told her, running a finger lightly over the wound while ignoring her wriggling, "Actually I think I can see my name there. Yep, I think it says 'WALLY'." Kitty giggled as he made a point of tracing his name over her scar. "Now how can I repulsed by my own name?" The brunette smiled, tucking her head under his chin while curling her body further into his lap. "Thanks Wally," she mumbled, her fingers clutching at his shirt as he stood up to carry her back to the group.

That afternoon, after Robin had gone back to Gotham to face his mentor and Artemis had left for her own home, Kitty found an extra bag amongst her shopping. M'gann had insisted on baking a cake for her while she stowed her new clothes, with Wally helping her. Whether it was the promise of cake or him just wanting to make sure she was okay, Kitty wasn't sure but she definitely appreciated the company. Slipping her hand inside the bag, she pulled out a white, one-shouldered bathing suit with a little pattern of pink cherry blossoms over it. Kitty turned to Wally who was suddenly looking lightly nervous.

"The girls helped me pick it," Wally told her, looking everywhere but at her, "It covers your back so you don't have to worry about people looking at you funny when you go to the beach." Kitty smiled brightly, a matching pink sarong in the bag to cover her legs if she wanted to. Dropping the fabric the bed she threw her arms around him, placing a small kiss to his cheek. "I love it," the brunette chuckled, "Thank you." Next time the group had a day at the beach, she would be playing right along side them, right beside him.

May your thoughts and creativity flow,

Lady Ami DragonHeart


	14. Chapter 14

Robin burst out of the portal, racing for the lounge. It had taken Batman and him a couple of months to repair the damage to the USB Kitty had downloaded and then reverse the effects of her abilities on the data saved, but they had finally retrieved something worthwhile. The teen skidded to a halt in the kitchen, eyes fixed on the lounge.

Kitty sat in the corner reading a book, her legs draped over Wally's lap as he attempted to complete his homework. M'gann was fussing in the kitchen, getting Kitty to taste everything as she went. "Not so fast Speed Racer," Kitty reprimanded as he lent forward to a bite of the martian girl's latest creation, "Homework first." Wally pouted and whined slightly before ducking his head back to his school work.

Robin took a seat using the computer system to summon everyone into the living area. The moment everyone was gathered the teen took the floor. "So Batman and I finally pulled some information thanks to Kitty's download of Ra's al Ghul's computer," the acrobat told them, earning the girl a one-armed hug from Wally, "Thanks to that intel we have a location for the League of Shadows. Batman did a little recon and we've got the basics on a facility in Wyoming and he wants us to check this place out."

The team decided to take two jets, M'gann piloting her craft with Conner, Kaldur and Artemis while Kitty took Wally, Robin and Roy in the Quin-jet. The archer claimed the seat beside Kitty, taking over the secondary flight controls, forcing Wally and Robin to take their places on the bench seats in the hull. M'gann let the Quin-jet fly first, using the signal jammers to hide both crafts from view as they gently landed in a clearing.

Getting in was easy, Robin and Kitty scaled the wall and opened a vent shaft large enough for everyone to slip through. Once inside they split in to two teams. M'gann and Kaldur would search the facility with Artemis and Conner watching their backs while the rest headed for the control room. Lockheed perched himself on Wally's shoulder as he and Roy stood guard with Robin and Kitty tapping away at the keyboards. "Okay," Robin called through the comms, "Looks like everything's in the main hanger. We'll meet you there."

As one, they moved through the facility, Kitty and Robin utilizing stealth to silence anyone they met on the way while Wally made use of his speed to surprise them so Roy could knock them out. The eight heroes burst into the hanger only to find in practically empty. "What's going on?" Artemis asked, glancing around at the bare room.

"Perhaps I can answer that," Cheshire purred, dropping to the floor in front of them while Sportsmaster sealed off the door behind them, "this is called a trap." A snap of her fingers and three creatures with the cobra serum dropped to the floor behind her. Roy pointed his arrow straight at Sportsmaster while Cheshire leveled her blades at Kitty. "You're mine girly," Cheshire growled out as the mutant girl drew her blades, stepping forward to face the assassin. "I wouldn't have it any other way," the brunette replied, offering a polite bow.

M'gan stepped up to Conner's side, Artemis shifting closer to Kaldur as Wally and Robin nodded to each other, the three pairs picking their opponent before charging. Wally took one last look at Kitty and Cheshire circling each other before turning back to his beast. Roy ducked and weaved, firing off arrows to counter Sportsmaster's attacks. Lockheed stayed hidden in the rafters, Kitty had told him to remain hidden unless needed and he intended to do just that.

Cheshire inclined her head, acknowledging the bow before darting forward. Kitty side-stepped, using the assassin's momentum to land a kick to her back. Cheshire stood to face Kitty only to have them both jump backwards as the beast Kaldur and Artemis was fighting skidded past. Taking the opportunity, the assassin leaped tackling Kitty to the ground and raising a Sai to stab her heart when Kitty phased into the floor, letting the blade stab concrete. "Well, well, well," the green-clad woman purred, "That is a neat trick."

A booted foot caught the assassin's chest, sending her flying backwards as Kitty came back up through the floor. Cheshire blew a kiss before scurrying up a ladder onto the raised boardwalk. Kitty took chase, flipping up on to the metal platform to continue the fight. If Cheshire wanted to raise the stakes, she was more then willing to oblige.

Kaldur distracted the beast, using his water to keep their target in place while Artemis tried to find a weak spot for her arrows. Conner was trading blow for blow, M'gann levitating everything she could to knock their creature out. Wally ran circles around their opponent giving Robin the time he needed to assess the situation. Lockheed swooped between all three, giving a small fire-blast to serve as a distraction to let the teens land a hit. "We need to work together," Robin called out through M'gann's mental bond with the group, "Use the beasts to take each other out." Working on each other's strengths, they slowly angled their battles until ducking one way or another had their foes smashing each other instead of the heroes.

Kitty and Cheshire ducked and weaved, trading blows blade for blade. The metal walkway restricted their better maneuvers, giving Cheshire's smaller blades the advantage she craved. The assassin darted in under the mutant's blades forcing the girl to dodge backwards, one sai nicking her cheek. A well placed foot had Kitty slipping, her back connecting with the grated metal. Glancing to the side, Kitty eyed a shipping container. Rolling her back, Kitty used the momentum to launch herself back up, both feet connecting with Cheshire's chest hard, her back connecting with metal once more before springing back to her feet.

Checking that her opponent was still recovering from her kick, Kitty placed her hands on the rail, using a handspring to gain momentum before back-flipping over to the container, blowing a challenging kiss to Cheshire as she landed with the cat-like grace she'd been named for. Cheshire launched herself after the girl, using a suspended chain to swing herself over. Taking a quick peek over the edge the assassin grinned, they were two stories up, high enough that a fall would either wind them, or knock them unconscious. Kitty twirled her katanas, their game of cat and mouse was about to be over.

Both women charged, ducking and dodging each others blows while trying to land their own hits. Ducking down Kitty swung a leg up to connect with Cheshire's head, forcing the older woman backwards as the younger girl followed up with a sweeping kick to knock her legs out from under her. The assassin flipped backwards, rolling with the blows and planting her feet to come back with a couple of hits of her own. Racing towards Cheshire, Kitty side-stepped using her speed to swing around her opponent, one leg staying at her back as the other wrapped around her waist sending her to the ground before the mutant girl smashed the hilt of her katana down on her mask. Cheshire flipped them over, gaining the higher ground while smirking dangerously behind her mask.

The heroes almost had the beasts when four of them suddenly dropped. Wally turned to Robin, his eyes wide. "I can't use my speed," the red-head told him just before the beast sent him flying across the room. With only Artemis and Robin to rely on the team fell hard, the creatures bringing them to their knees before soldiers filtered in and bound them. "That's because I cut your powers," a military man told them in a slightly southern drawl, "I had this place rigged with inhibitors just for you." A nod sent the beasts over to help Sportsmaster bring Roy to his knees, the archer joining the rest of the team in front of the General.

"The name's General Stryker," the man informed them, glancing around the room, "but I'm sure my pretty little animal's already told you all about me. Where is my little animal?" As if in answer, Cheshire's body flew from the top of the shipping container, her mask flying as she hit the ground. A girl with twin katanas using her body to cushion the impact before stabbing the blades into the arms of the kimono to keep the unconscious woman in place. "Ah, there she is," Stryker exclaimed calmly as he turned to Kitty, "Are you ready to come home?"

Kitty spun, reaching for her blades before Stryker stopped her. "I wouldn't if I were you," the General mocked, pointing a lazy finger to her friends kneeling with numerous guns pointed at their heads, "Not if you don't want to see their brains blown out. Now be a good girl and put your pretty necklace on." Styker tossed her an inhibiting collar, keeping a steady eye on the little mutant.

"Don't do it Kitkat!" Wally screamed, he didn't care what happened to them, as long as Kitty lived nothing else mattered. Her blue eyes locked on his frantic green orbs and suddenly she knew, she would do anything to keep him safe, even become a puppet. "If I do this," Kitty asked, her voice shaking slightly, "If I go with you, they go free?"

"You have my word," Stryker told her, his voice calm and even. Kitty glanced to Wally one last time, silently asking him to forgive her as she placed the collar around her neck. Two soldiers came up behind her, tugging her wrists behind her to handcuff the girl. "Kill 'em," Stryker told them, nodding his head towards the heroes.

"No!" Kitty cried jumping up to kick the two soldiers behind her in the face, "Lockheed, NOW!" She spun to Stryker only to have his fist connect with her stomach. The mutant coughed up a mouthful of blood as he threw her into the back of a van and ordered the driver to go as he climbed in the cab. Wally closed his eyes against the inevitable, he'd failed to protect her from Stryker and now his friends would be dying with him. He'd never see Kitty again and that thought alone hurt more then anything he'd felt before, so much he was almost glad death was coming for him.

May your thoughts and creativity flow,

Lady Ami DragonHeart


	15. Chapter 15

Wally closed his eyes, bracing himself for death only to hear shouts of the soldiers behind him. Lockheed launched himself from the rafters, blasting fire-burst after fire-burst at the soldiers while streams of spiderweb rendered the men helpless. "Did I hear someone ask for their friendly neighborhood Spiderman?" Peter asked, flipping and shooting webs at the men. The Young Justice team surged to their feet, turning the tide against their foes.

Between Peter's spiderwebs, Robin's gadgets and the rest of the team's pure heart, they quickly over-powered both men and beasts, with Peter wrapping each one in spider-silk to stop them escaping. Shooting out one last blast, Spiderman tugged Artemis into his arms. "You know, that probably deserves one massive thank you," the web-slinging hero told her, earning a peck on the cheek from the blushing archer.

"We'll find her," Robin told Wally, attempting to console his lost friend, "We'll make them talk and failing that, there's bound to be some evidence around her to lead us to her." Wally shook his head biting back a scathing remark purely because he knew his friend was just trying to help. "Not before he turns her into a puppet," the speedster replied morosely.

"Yeah I planted it," Peter said, one hand pressed to his ear as he spoke to an unknown person, "You just plot me the coordinates and we'll do the rest." The spidery hero turned to face the others, smiling brightly. "So who wants to follow the tracker I planted on her collar?" he asked cheerfully, finally bringing hope back to Wally's face.

The team waited just long enough for the Justice League to arrive and take over the clean up of the facility before racing to the aircraft, Peter and Lockheed had already left to program the Quin-jet, not wanting to meet any of the older heroes. "Okay, so it looks like they switched transport," the web-slinging hero told them as they arrived, "They're heading to a facility in Alkali Lake." Peter quickly brought up a display of Alkali Lake. "Now here's the thing, from the surface it looks like a dam," the spidery hero informed them, before bringing up an image of a building carved into the rock face with numerous sub-basements, "But my friend was able to get this. Only problem is, the only entrance is one long tunnel that they can flood at any given moment."

Robin checked the imaging. "There's no way I can hack their computer system either," Robin replied, "The dam walls are thick enough to protect any outside interference." Peter nodded, knowing the situation seemed hopeless, but also knowing they had something they had their own ace up their sleeve. "You're forgetting one thing," Peter responded, eyeing the group carefully, "He wants puppets. He wants people with abilities he can use in his war. Now he thinks we're dead, if we show up on his doorstep we become infinitely more valuable to him. He'll open the doors because he believes his inhibitor fields will protect him. All we need is to get inside." The team nodded, once they were inside they would fight until they got Kitty out and leveled the place.

M'gann and her three travelers returned to her craft, following the Quin-jet to their target. "So, how come the inhibitors don't effect you?" Roy asked glancing over at Peter. The skateboarding nerd smiled, suddenly glad of the origins of his own powers. "I'm not Mutant or Meta," Spiderman replied, "See the thing about radioactive spider bites is that it alters your DNA on such a fundamental level, it's hard to tell where Peter ends and the spider begins." The archer nodded, suddenly extremely glad the spider-boy was on their side.

They landed the aircraft in plain view of the facility, they needed the General to know they were coming. Peter quickly switched out his web-blasters for new canisters of the spider-silk while Roy and Artemis found the spare cache of arrows Kitty had stashed in the Quin-jet. "How did you know where to find us?" Robin asked as they began their trek towards the tunnel. Their mission had been top secret with only Batman knowing where they were going. "My friend," Peter replied, pointing to his ear-piece, "Lets just say he's not too fond of Stryker so it didn't take long to convince him to keep tabs on his movements. When he saw Kitty heading towards a location he frequented, he passed the message along."

The tunnel drained the moment they came near it, allowing them access to walk up the long dark acess road. Stryker and a team of soldiers were waiting for them at the door to the facility. "Well you just went up in my estimations," Stryker told them, not noticing Peter use his webs to stick a couple of signal-jammers to the control panel operating the doors, "I guess you want to join your friend as my pets."

"Actually we're here to rescue her," Peter told him as the sounds of 'Shoot to Thrill' began to play through the speaker system of the entire facility, "And that would be the cavalry." Stryker screamed for the doors to be closed, only to have his men tell him the computers wouldn't respond. Peter shoved the heroes to one side just before a red and gold suit of armour appeared. Iron Man took one look around the room, not even fazed by the people shooting at him before raising his arm and letting a few small missiles fly, blowing up key computer parts. "Inhibitors are down," Iron Man told the heroes, "Now go find your friend, I'll keep these numbskulls busy."

"Thanks I.M," Peter called as the group headed down one corridor, neutralizing anyone who stood in their way. Robin began hacking the computer systems, pulling up all the data on the layout of the bunker. The acrobat started leading the way, turning down various hallways until they finally reached an empty room. "The holding cells are here," the raven teen told them, pointing to the large grates in the floor. Peering into the first one, they saw a group of young mutants all huddled in the center. "The walls seem to have an electric charge running through them to prevent escapes," Robin continued, tapping away until he managed to shut the power off, "Okay, lets get them out of there."

The heroes moved to the holding cells, opening the grates and offering a hand up to those inside. It didn't take the team long to empty out the cells, staring at the half-starved mutant children who couldn't stop staring at them in wonder. "She's not here," Wally told them, his eyes searching for Kitty's brown curls and blue eyes, "We need to keep looking." Kaldur looked to the children, then back to Wally, he knew the speedster wouldn't leave without Kitty but the children needed to be escorted out of the firing line.

"Robin," Kaldur ordered while taking control of the situation, "Give Red Arrow a copy of your map and then take Spiderman and Kid Flash to search for Shadowcat. The rest of us will escort the children out of here." Kaldur and Roy lead the young mutants towards the exit, Artemis, Conner and M'gann protecting the rear. A few of the older children managed to work past their fear, using their own abilities to help keep the younger ones safe.

Peter, Wally and Robin ran through the building searching for any other places they might be holding Kitty, until they finally stumbled on to the labs. Strapped to a gurney was an unconscious Kitty. Wally raced to her side, brushing a couple of curls away to reveal a nasty bruise covering one cheek, the small hospital-issue gown doing little to conceal the other bruises littering her body. The red head smiled bitterly, his Kitkat had obviously fought right until they knocked her out.

Releasing her bonds, Robin and Peter stepped back to allow Wally to pull her in to his arms. "Hey," Wally murmured, one hand stroking her uninjured cheek, "Wake up Kitkat, it's time to go home." Robin removed his cape, wrapping it around the girl's shoulders as she slowly opened her eyes. "You came," Kitty smiled up at Wally, snuggling further into the warmth of Robin's cape, "Just like you said you would." Wally cringed slightly, seeing her eyes still slightly unfocused by whatever drug they had coursing through her system.

The three boys ran back towards then entrance, Wally keeping Kitty close to his chest as they moved. True to his word, Iron Man had not only kept the General and his men busy, he'd also single-handedly tanked most of their computer systems. The metal-clad hero waited for them to clear the tunnel before flying out himself, General Stryker firmly in his grasp.

"I've been looking for a reason to bust this guy since I found out he was helping Obediah get rid of me," Stark told them, dragging the general behind him as he made his way to the aircrafts, "I have to thank you kids. I wouldn't have found this much dirt on him by myself." Peter and Roy took the Quin-jet, loaded with the children and General Stryker, while the rest piled into M'gann's ship, both following Iron Man to a nearby airstrip.

It didn't take long for Tony's private jet to arrive, the man offering a lift back to the mutant children. Once they reached New York, he could pass their information along to the authorities to find parents and Pepper would love having a house full of kids in the meantime. Kitty slipped out of Wally's arms to give Tony's armour a hug, thanking him while telling him to take the young mutants to Professor Xavier, he'd be able to help them more than anyone. Peter gave her one final hug telling her he expected to see her for Thanksgiving, trying not to aggravate any bruises before waving to the team and walking towards the jet. The web-slinger ducked as an arrow whizzed over his head, spinning around to catch an armful of blonde. Artemis tugged his face-mask up just enough to kiss his lips properly before wriggling out of his grasp and back to the team. "Don't forget Friday night Skype," she called over her shoulder, making the spider hero grin before swinging himself into the jet. They watched the jet take off before taking to their own crafts to head back to Mount Justice.

Kitty sat on the edge of the bath letting Wally fuss over the cut on her cheek, eyeing his frantic movements carefully. "What is it?" she asked gently, her hands reaching up to still his. The red-head sighed, closing his green eyes as he knelt on the cold tiles before her. She was still wearing the horrid hostpital gown with Robin's cloak pinned around her shoulders.

"I promised you that I'd protect you from him," Wally bit out, hating himself more and more for letting Stryker take her in the first place, "I promised that I'd fight for you and I almost lost you." Kitty smiled softly, her hand reaching to cup his cheek and tilt his face towards hers. If you'd told her a few months ago that she'd learn to trust people again, she would've laughed so hard, but this one crazy speedster had barreled his was into her life and somehow made everything seem so much brighter.

"You saved me," Kitty told him, her small fingers stroking his cheek, "You came back for me and you saved all those children because of it. You saved me, just like you promised you would." Bright green eyes opened just in time to see her lean forward just moments before her lips met his. The brunette pulled back only to have eager hands pull her onto his lap, Wally's lips searching out hers once more. They spent the night curled up together, Wally more then happy to see Robin's cape tossed over a chair, one of his arms wrapped around her waist, the other tangled in her curls, the speedster happy just holding her close as she slept.

May your thoughts and creativity flow,

Lady Ami DragonHeart


	16. Epilogue

"Today's the day," Wally said, squeezing the small hand clasped in his, his eyes staring at the building before him with a look of wonder. The hand in his squeezed back turning his green eyes to the girl at his side. "Today's the day," she replied, beaming brightly up at him while weaving her fingers through his. His Uncle Barry clapped a hand to his shoulder, directing his gaze to a camera. Wally and Kitty smiled brightly for Aunt Iris before Grandpa Flash took the camera, insisting on a family photo.

Turning around, the rest of their friends stepped up behind them all here to see their graduation. "I got you a present," Peter told Kitty, lifting her up into a tight hug, "It'll be here a little later." The moment Peter stepped back, Artemis caught his hand once more, all of the young heroes wishing them well before slipping inside the school hall to grab a seat. The teachers finally stalked out to gather their students. Kitty gave Wally a quick kiss before dashing off to her own form class.

Much to their displeasure, they'd ended up in different form classes but since they took similar subjects they still managed to spend most of the day together. Wally could stil remember the lunch ladies cooing over them on their first day at school as a couple, he'd never eaten so well. The older women were so taken with Kitty that they kept trays for Wally and Kitty behind the counter, ensuring that the pair always had their choice for the day. Whenever someone had been picking on Kitty, they always seemed to know because there would be a special treat on her tray the next time they saw her and there was always a cupcake on their birthdays. On their last official day the mutant girl had insisted on baking them a special batch of cupcakes to surpise the kind ladies, who had shocked them both back with a card signed by all of them and a bunch of flowers for Kitty. The women had laughed as Wally tried to juggle both trays, the card and a sobbing Kitty clutching the flowers close to her chest.

Wally took his seat in the hall, taking a quick glance at his friends and family sitting in the main seating before looking over his shoulder at Kitty. The girl waved brightly, blowing him a kiss before turning back to one of her friends. The service started, the Principal slowly inviting the students up class by class to accept their senior certificate. Collecting his own diploma, Wally somehow managed to slip into the crowd to sit with his family, waiting for Kitty to take the stage.

Kitty just set foot on stage when the doors at the back of the hall burst open. "Drop that diploma," an Iron-clad Stark called as he strode into the hall. A petite red-haired woman stood up, here eyes flashing dangerously as she rounded on the metal hero. "Tony Stark!" she cried out furiously, earning her a slightly bored 'Yes Dear,' from the billionaire, "I specifically told you that I would handle this. You're supposed to be keeping a low profile and I distinctly remember telling you to wear a suit."

"I am wearing a suit," Tony told her looking decidedly bored, "You failed to specify which one. Besides that, you scheduled a board meeting for today and I made an executive decision. This has a higher priority for me so you might want to get Happy to drive you to the airport, I'd hate to have to cancel a board meeting. Now Princess, front and center please," Tony stepped forward, requesting Kitty to walk towards the front of the stage, "now turn." Kitty spun unsurely on the spot, her eyes flashing to a perplexed Wally and a brightly grinning Peter.

"Oh, now this I can work with," Tony told her, before holding up a thick envelope, "I have your MIT acceptance package right here complete with scholarship but I want to offer you something better, so let's walk and talk shall we? You, give her the diploma," Tony directed the Principal before turning his attention back to Kitty, "And you, I feel like a cheeseburger, do you like cheeseburgers? What am I talking about, you're a kid, of course you like cheeseburgers. Okay, so lets go, walk and talk, time is money and Pepper, she's going to need a wardrobe. Get whoever your designers are to figure something out in her size. Let's go people." Iron Man turned, stalking back down the aisle with Kitty and a disgruntled Pepper trailing after him.

"Wally!" The red-head turned to catch an armful of his bubbly girlfriend, "He offered me a job!" Green eyes lit up as he smiled at his excited Kitkat. The rest of the team turned to the pair, they'd been wondering what Stark had been doing there and what he wanted with Kitty. "That's great Kitkat," the speedster told her, hugging her tightly to him.

"He wants me to be his Lab Assistant," Kitty explained, "He'll cover all my tuition for MIT and he'll enroll me in a New York dance academy in exchange for working part time in the Stark R&D labs as an analyst. Plus he said he'll cover for me with the boss if Young Justice stuff comes up. Only thing is I'll have to move to New York."

Wally's grin faltered slightly. He knew this was her dream and that they would've had to separate for college anyway, but actually hearing it made it seem real somehow. "You have to do it," Wally told her, smiling back, "Besides, we can always meet up for weekends and holidays and like you said, we'll have our work with the team so it's not like we'll never see each other."

"If it makes you feel better," Peter cut in, grinning widely, "I'm his other Lab Assistant. Aunt May and I have already found an apartment and there's enough room for all three of us." Wally's smile brightened. Knowing that Kitty would be with Peter took a load off his mind, they'd take care of each other. Kitty called Stark, quickly accepting the offer before turning back to her friends. It was time they made the most out of their final vacation together.

A big thank you to all your lovely reviews...stay tuned for the sequel!

May your thoughts and creativity flow,

Lady Ami DragonHeart


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